


Borderlands: Firehawk Rising

by WrestleCrazyGamer



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Play Borderlands 3 First, Post-Borderlands 3, seriously
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-23
Updated: 2020-09-24
Packaged: 2020-10-26 13:48:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 23,978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20743202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WrestleCrazyGamer/pseuds/WrestleCrazyGamer
Summary: Cinder is the enigmatic child of Lilith, though the Firehawk is nowhere to be found. After Cinder gets some nice tats that come with some strange powers he begins a journey to find out why he was suddenly dumped with the Crimson Raiders at the tender age of five. What he finds might change everything... or nothing, the universe is strange like that.





	1. The Dragon Is Christened

_ This story is a little different from the ones you’ve been told so far. This is the story of my little boy, Cinder. When I had him my entire life changed. I could barely focus on the task at hand, but he was the absolute sweetest so I could never be mad at him. The hardest thing that a mother can ever do came up quicker than I thought it would… having to give him up. It was going to be too dangerous to take him with me. So I warped him to a place where he would be safe, or at least safer than with me… the Crimson Raiders. I couldn’t tell him at the time, and I still remember those confused eyes he gave me… but Cinder and allies he’d eventually meet would be the keys to completing my mission. _

“Crimson Raiders to the bridge.” Ava commanded over Echo comms.

Aboard Sanctuary 3, in Lilith’s old room, was a young teenage boy with flat red hair. He was dressed in black boots, blue jeans sporting a black belt equipped with a buckle in the shape of the Firehawk, red shin guards, a black tank top, and black fingerless gloves. He was sleeping soundly when the ship shook violently for a second startling him awake, falling off the bed landing on his shoulders.

“Sorry about the sudden turbulence, people, just a few asteroids. Carry on, we’re good.” Belax spoke over the comms.

“Cinder, you up yet? Ava wants everyone on the bridge.” Brick spoke through Cinder’s Echo device.

“I am now…” he groaned, picking himself off the floor to put on a crimson red jacket.

After stretching a bit, Cinder made his way to the bridge. He wasn’t ready to be up yet, so he hoped it was important. Upon entering the door he spied a strange red and green planet with its own asteroid ring around it outside of the ship.

“The heck is that?” Cinder asked, approaching the assembled group.

“Planet Miotis. It was long thought abandoned due to the overly aggressive wildlife, but we have reason to believe there is an Eridian facility somewhere on the surface.” Tannis replied.

“The Camping Team will be Tina, Mordecai, and Tannis. Exploration team is going to be Brick and Cinder this time.” Ava told them.

“Why can’t I go on the Exploration Team?! I’m gonna miss all the fun!” Tina whined.

“You gave the last planet you were on the team with a new tourist attraction…” Mordecai pointed out.

“Well if Brick hadn’t literally dropped the bomb that wouldn’t have happened! Not my fault!” Tina huffed, crossing her arms.

“You didn’t tell me it was a bomb!” Brick argued.

“You shoulda known it was a bomb! I literally only make bombs! It is my jam!” Tina snapped back.

“Get a room, you two. Tina, they’re going to need your explosives to make flat ground for the camp. As our explosives expert, the Camping Team needs you more than the Exploration Team.” Ava told her.

“Cinder can’t use guns, so like that’s sending him to an early grave.” Tina stated.

“Can to. I just don’t own any. Can’t afford a gun either.” Cinder huffed.

“I already thought about that ahead of time and commissioned a special piece from Atlas. They do kind of owe the Crimson Raiders the livelihood of their company, so they were glad to.” Ava smiled, nudging Marcus.

“Be careful with it. You don’t get pieces like this every day.” Marcus sighed, handing Cinder a crimson magnum with the Firehawk mark emblazoned on both sides of the barrel.

“They call it  _ Lilith’s Inferno _ , the strongest incendiary gun in the sector. Careful though, it’s got some kick to it.” Ava smiled.

“When do we go planetside?” Cinder grinned.

The teams assembled in an “appropriated” Dahl ship, modified and rechristened  _ Roland No.2 _ after their failed attempt at a homemade drop ship, in the hangar shortly after final preparations were made. The descent went smoothly enough, but Tina had to bomb the ground from the air to make a landing site that was even. After landing, they performed a perimeter sweep to ensure they don’t have a welcoming committee.

“All right, now for what you’ll be looking for.” Tannis spoke, handing Cinder a pulsing purple device of some kind.

“Your Eridium Tracker?” Cinder questioned, raising an eyebrow.

“A modified Eridium Tracker, to be exact. It now locks onto the metal used in Eridian constructs. Just follow the pulse, as usual. Get to it while we set up camp.” Tannis ordered.

“All right. Let’s hope we get to punch some alien life.” Brick chuckled, cracking his knuckles.

“Brick, don’t go endangering Lil’s kid.” Mordecai sighed.

“Come on, Mordecai, I’m not a little kid anymore. I know that if Brick starts up trouble I’m supposed to get out of there.” Cinder smiled.

“Let him be a worrywart a while longer.” Tina snickered.

Cinder and Brick set off into the wilds of Miotis quickly after that. The Eridium Tracker didn’t seem to be picking anything up in the immediate area, making their range of exploration only seem to expand. The wildlife around them were similar to dinosaurs, which made them easy to take down for the most part. Before long the sun was starting to go down as they reached a chasm.

“Guess we should head back. We didn’t bring a light source.” Brick stated, looking at the sky.

“We can start the search here tomorrow then. I’m getting a reaction, but it looks like it’s coming from down there?” Cinder told him, looking down into the black below.

“We can probably make a lift or something.” Brick nodded.

They began to head back when a broad headed beast came charging from the brush slamming into Brick and Cinder. Brick recovered fast and blasted its face into mince meat with his shotgun, then looked around for Cinder.

“Cinder? Cinder, where’d you go buddy?” Brick asked, looking around eventually spotting his Echo at the edge of the chasm.

“CINDER!!!”

At the bottom of the chasm, poorly illuminated by glowing fungi, Cinder burst from a small lake of blue water. He pulled himself ashore, hacking up some of the water, before feeling himself over for injuries. Looking up he saw that he’d fallen from quite a height.

“Brick! I’m okay! I think...” Cinder called up, praying he’d hear him.

“Oh thank god. I’ll get the others! Stay safe, you hear?!” Brick called back.

“Do you happen to have my Echo?!” he called up.

“Oh! Almost forgot about that!” Brick replied, dropping Cinder’s Echo down to him.

“Now we can stay in contact.” Cinder sighed with relief.

“What’s it like down there?” Brick asked via Echo.

“Wet, smelly, and generally unpleasant to the eyes.” Cinder answered, pulling the Eridium Tracker out to find it pulsing rapidly.

Curious about it, he began to follow the reading. After a few minutes of walking he came to an Eridian Door. He touched the center panel and it shocked him, despite the door opening.

“Wonder what’s inside…” Cinder smirked, heading inside.

The inside of the place was very well lit, despite being who knows how old. Deeper in he found what looked to be a lab of sorts. There were creatures of different worlds encased in tubes full of a red gel substance. In the next room were what appeared to be operating tables. On the walls were depictions of Eridian figures, each seeming to master an element. 

In the furthest chamber was an iron maiden type container with red crystals lining the left side and eridium crystals lining the right. It strangely had extensions as if the arms were meant to be spread out in a T pose. When he went to touch it something hit the back of his head causing him to lose consciousness.

**“You have come at last, Ember of the Phoenix. Your birthright shall be granted to you. I christen you… The Dragon, Child of the Firehawk, Hellfire Reborn.”**

When Cinder came to he couldn’t see anything, and quickly began to panic. No matter how he tried to move, his body seemed restricted by something. Whatever was holding him was not going to budge, making him panic more. He wriggled and struggled more and more as his body began to feel hot, and only grow to become hotter.

“Let… me… OUT!!!” Cinder screamed, and a fiery explosion from within himself destroyed what was holding him.

Sitting up, he saw that he was inside of the iron maiden container without his jacket on. Marring his left arm all the way up to his neck were red markings of some kind, and on his right were equally strange purple markings. His arms felt foreign now, even though they are indeed his arms. His jacket was hanging off a statue by the container, allowing him to quickly grab it. Even slight movements with his arms sent agony through his body, making putting his jacket on a trial.

“ _ What the hell happened to me…? _ ”

He carefully made his way toward the door when a Guardian tackled him from the side, sending immense pain through his arms. It tried to stab him making him grab the bottom of the spear. The agony was intense, but he couldn’t let himself get killed here. His left hand began to smoke after a minute of struggling, beginning to turn the spear red hot. The Guardian’s hands then lit on fire making it shriek as it leapt to the wall, dropping the spear.

“The hell…?” Cinder questioned, getting to his feet looking at the weapon in his hands.

It was obviously red hot, but it wasn’t burning him at all. The Guardian leapt at him and he threw the spear like a javelin igniting it on fire as it skewered his adversary, pinning it to the wall like a trophy hunt. The pain was slowly receding, instead replaced by a strange warmth. That was what made him notice that his clothes were completely dry, when he was soaked just a bit ago.

“Cinder! You okay, buddy?!” Brick’s voice roared from the other room.

“The rescue team has arrived! If you are alive, please say so!” Sir Hammerlock’s voice called.

“In here!” he replied to their calls, prompting Brick, Sir Hammerlock, Tina, and Mordecai to rush in.

“Thank goodness you are safe.” Hammerlock sighed.

“Awe, I don’t get to blow anything up?” Tina whined.

“I tried to get you on comms but you didn’t say anything. What happened?” Mordecai asked him.

“Someone blindsided me, and when I woke up I was in the container there. I didn’t see them, but whoever they were did something to my arms. I have weird heat powers or something.” Cinder explained to them.

“Let’s have Tannis check you out back at camp then. I’m just glad that you didn’t die on me.” Brick smiled, giving him a hearty pat on the back causing some pain in his arms.

The team escorted Cinder back to base camp where the Camping Team had certainly been busy. A small fortress along with a landing pad had been constructed alongside a portable Catch-A-Ride Station. Tannis had already set up a miniature lab to boot.

“Good, he’s still alive.” Tannis smiled.

“Yo Tannis, he needs you to look at his arms. Says someone did something to him.” Mordecai told her.

“Well, I can’t make any promises, but I can at least look.” she shrugged.

Cinder stepped into her lab and took his jacket off making a very loud gasp leave Tannis’s mouth. She grabbed his left arm and a magnifying glass to begin examining him.

“Uh… Tannis…?” Cinder questioned nervously.

“Eridian handwriting! It’s in such an infinitesimal size that they make the appearance of marks on your body! I’m still trying to grip the language, so I can only make out bits and pieces of what it’s saying on your bicep alone.” Tannis explained in full scientist mode.

“Like what…?” Cinder asked her.

“Hmm, the one phrase that stands out is ‘Pyre of the Phoenix’... let’s examine the other arm.” Tannis replied, swapping which arm she’s holding.

“Is it bad?” Brick asked nervously.

“We don’t even know if he’s sick, dude.” Mordecai scolded him.

“Please tell me he’ll get better…” Brick whimpered.

“Chill, dawg, let Tanny do her thang. Come on, I need a third person for Bunkers and Badasses.” Tina scoffed, pulling him away.

“Fascinating… it says something along the lines of ‘controlling an inherited yet forbidden power’, but also contains passages detailing a ‘Power of Might’. Mayhaps it’s similar to the power of a Siren? I’ll need some time to scan and analyze your arms.” Tannis theorized.

“If they are indeed a form of Siren markings, would they not span his body as well?” Hammerlock pointed out.

“An excellent observation!” Tannis gasped, forcing Cinder’s shirt off exposing the sets of markings intersecting and touching all the way down his chest to below his pants.

“H-Hey! I only have the one shirt, careful with it...” Cinder yelped.

“Fascinating, simply fascinating. On the torso there are phrases written in print while others are written in Eridian. Someone else had a hand in engraving these on you. Someone human.” Tannis observed.

“Lilith, possibly?!” Mordecai gasped.

“Well, unless you know more than one person who uses the term ‘Firehawk’ to refer to themself.” Tannis smirked.

“Mom marked me like this…? Why’d she knock me out…?” Cinder asked her.

“I guess we need to find out where to go next in order to ask her. It says here that the ‘Angel Marker’ will point the way to ‘Destiny’. The way it’s described, you had one when we found you. Ava should have it, for safekeeping as small children can’t be trusted with Eridian artifacts.” Tannis answered.

“Can I put my shirt back on now…?”

“Let me examine the marks a bit more. I’ll need to see your legs at some point as well.”

Morning soon came and Cinder returned to Sanctuary with Tannis. Tannis had Cinder wait outside the bridge while she explains the situation. While waiting Claptrap rolled up to him.

“Hey Cinder, you wouldn’t happen to have seen a little robot about half my height…possibly heavily armed…have you?” Claptrap asked him.

“Did you lose another failed attempt to make a friend…?” Cinder raised an eyebrow.

“No! It ran away! Tooooootally different scenarios!” Claptrap exclaimed.

“Ava shot it.” Tannis spoke, exiting the door.

“Awe! It was gonna be my enfor-friend! My friend!” Claptrap laughed nervously.

“She also bans you from using the workshop until further notice.” Tannis informed the robot.

“Awe man…” Claptrap groaned.

“All right, she’s ready for you. Make sure to tell me every detail of what happens afterwards. Some idiots need my medical expertise so I can’t be there with you.” Tannis told Cinder.

Cinder entered the bridge with hesitation in his footsteps. Ava is the one person he always feared more than anyone else, since she could stop him from running if she wanted a chat among other things. That and she has executive authority over the ship.

“Cinder. It’s been a long ten years since you first popped up on the ship out of nowhere, hasn’t it?” Ava addressed him.

_ Commander Ava, She’s A Siren, and She Has The Authority _

“Yeah.” he nodded, his voice cracking a bit.

“Tannis says that with your new powers you might be able to get a response out of this thing.” Ava told him, presenting a strange black dagger bearing a holographic blade to him.

“This is the Angel Marker, or whatever my tats said it is?” Cinder asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Try holding it. See if anything happens.” Ava suggested, tossing it to him.

The minute he held it in his hands his markings began to glow brightly. The holographic blade then became a sword blade as the device began yanking Cinder toward the navigation controls. Ava tried to help him stop, but it only began yanking with more force pulling both along. It then plunged itself into the navigation controls causing them to begin sparking as the lights went crazy, turning dark purple and red.

“WW-W-W-W-W-W-WHAT ARE YOU P-P-P-PPUTTING IN-IN-IN-IN M-ME???!!!” Balex cried in a staticky voice.

“I can’t get it out!” Cinder cried, pulling with all his might.

**“Coordinates locked. Beginning automatic navigation protocol. Enjoy the trip.”**

“Who said that?!” Ava cried as the ship began to move.

“The ship’s going into warp on its own! Everybody hold onto your butts, I can’t stop it!” Balex warned the entire crew.

The ship then entered warp making Cinder and Ava dangle from the dagger handle. The warp seemed to last for ages until at last it stopped letting them hit the floor. Alarms were going off all over the ship as Cinder and Ava tried to pick themselves off the floor.

“Crimson Raiders… status report…” Ava groaned into her Echo.

“Bar’s a mess but otherwise we’re fine, sugar.” Moxxi reported in.

“What the hell was that? My vending machines are locked up because of the sudden turbulence.” Marcus grumbled.

“Cargo bay and hangar have gone to hell in a handbasket, and the engines are shot too. What in the hell’s goin’ on?” Ellie answered the call.

“I am alive, thankfully. Narrowly avoided being crushed by my own operating table…” Tannis informed them.

“Guys… I’m stuck in the wall… again… little help…?” Claptrap whined.

“Well, at least the ship isn’t going to explode on us.” Ava sighed, helping Cinder to his feet.

“Where even are we…?” Cinder asked, looking out the window.

“According to our Galactic Navigation System… we aren’t in the same galaxy sector anymore. Either that or its malfunctioning, could be either or. Lots of stuff are offline or busted right now.” Balex answered him.

“According to the Angel Marker… Planet Voracia X. It must want us to go down there and… find whatever it is we’re supposed to be looking for.” Ava shrugged, looking at the marker blade.

“Guess I’d better go down there, huh?” Cinder sighed.

“We aren’t going anywhere for awhile, so may as well.” Ava shrugged.


	2. Feral Wilds of Voracia X

It was early morning as the Roland 2 landed planetside. Unlike Miotia, Voracia X seemed at least a bit more developed. Cinder’s objective was obvious enough as in the distance stood a colossal eridian obelisk. He wasn’t used to solo expeditions, so he was more careful than before. After a long two hour trek he came across something unexpected - an Atlas Corporation Encampment. Thinking on it, the Crimson Raiders are on friendly terms with Atlas, so it should stand to reason that he doesn’t need to be on guard. Upon reaching the gate the guards stepped in his way.

“Identify yourself.” the left guard ordered.

“Cinder of the Crimson Raiders.” he replied readily.

“Crimson Raiders? What are they doing out of the Pandora Sector?” the right guard asked.

“It was less our choice and more an eridian artifact making our ship jump through space. Whatever it wants me to find is here on Voracia X, so here I am.” Cinder explained.

“What do we do?” the left guard asked his coworker.

“Well… it’s not like the Crimson Raiders are enemies… erm, let’s see what the commander thinks.” the right guard replied.

“Wait here.” the left guard ordered Cinder while the other guard ran off.

After a few minutes the guard came sprinting back with a noticeable crack in his helmet visor. He whispered to his ally and both stood aside giving him a big salute. Cinder then cautiously entered the camp spying a tall person in a red overcoat bearing the Atlas logo on the upper back giving orders to the troops. When he turned around it was revealed to be a robot in an armored suit giving the orders.

_ Loader Bot - Atlas Vice President, and Brobot of Rhys. What? Didn’t play Tales From The Borderlands? _

“Greetings, Cinder. I am Loader Bot, Vice President of Atlas. I apologize for the stupidity of my fleshy underlings. It should not be questioned that the Crimson Raiders are valued allies.” Loader Bot greeted him.

“So what’s Atlas doing in… whatever sector this is?” Cinder asked it.

“Entrepreneuring settlements. The Volatile Sector is a region that only Torgue has been brave enough to attempt colonization in despite the valuable resources on its planets, and suffice to say it is not going well for them. Rhys wants to get a leg up on the competition, picking the world closest to the Sector Jump Point. Torgue chose the planet furthest in, Kaida V.” Loader Bot explained to him.

“What’s the local life like?” Cinder questioned further.

“The most advanced natives are humanoid with a 15.3481% difference in appearance to humans, currently exhibiting an intelligence level equivalent to tribal times on Earth. Most bear at least one animal feature with some rare specimens bearing horns, claws, fangs, and even tusks. They have been named Voracians by Rhys.” Loader Bot answered.

“Think they’d get mad if I went to that structure?” Cinder asked, pointing to the distance.

“The locals claim that it is sacred ground, and any who attempt to enter will be struck down by the wrath of the Spirit of Retribution. They will come close to monitor any travelers, perhaps out of curiosity more than malice, but they should not pose a threat.” Loader Bot answered, looking toward it.

“All right. That’s where I’m headed next then.” Cinder nodded.

“It is dangerous to travel at night. Evening is fast approaching, and night soon after. There are many nocturnal predators that can make short work of many of the planet’s inhabitants. I advise spending the night to ensure your safety. Bobert, our chef, makes exquisite fruit burgers.” Loader Bot told him.

“Can robots taste food…?” Cinder raised an eyebrow.

“The troops claim that they are of such caliber. I am merely taking their word for it.” Loader Bot replied.

“I’ll take you up on your offer then. I’m new to the whole adventure on my own shtick, so best to take advice when I’m given it.” Cinder smiled.

Loader Bot wasn’t kidding when he said night was close, because only an hour and a half had passed by the time the sun was totally gone. The sounds of nature were very loud on this planet too. Sounds of battle, sounds of passion, sounds of undetermined origin - the night was certainly alive. While enjoying a fruit burger, a burger with fruit chunks embedded in the patty, Cinder could only think of his markings. How did his powers work? Do they have limited use? Did he get them from his mother’s genetics as a Siren?

His train of thought was interrupted by Atlas soldiers bringing a black canister larger than them in from outside the compound. It had something alive inside of it as they struggled to keep from toppling over. The something inside sounded uncannily human, but it was also barking and howling like an animal. His curiosity got the better of him, drawing him closer to it.

“Vice-President, we finally got her.” one of the courier soldiers spoke, saluting Loader Bot as it approached.

“Ah, our little saboteur. I’ve been waiting to meet her. Bring out the cage.” Loader Bot commanded, and the soldiers put a large hologrid cage up to the door of the canister.

When they opened the door a blur flew out, slamming into the cage wall making them flop over as the entrance closed. Getting a better look, it appeared to be a tan girl Cinder’s age with very wild and bushy pink hair. She was dressed in a hide dress with vine bindings around the waist, a crimson fur mantle around her shoulders, and was hiding her face with a horrific animal skull mask bearing forward protruding horns. Swaying furiously behind her was a lizard-like tail with a bushy tuft of fur at the end matching her hair. She was screaming in an odd pig latin tongue as she began slamming claw-bearing fists on the cage walls, fruitlessly trying to slash the hologrid walls with black claws. On the right side of her body were purple markings similar in shape to the ones on Cinder’s right side.

“Yes, flail all you like, but we caught you.” Loader Bot spoke.

“I think I know why I came here…” Cinder mumbled, looking at his hand.

He approached the cage, raised his hand, and began to focus. He thought of making fire appear on his hand. He vaguely remembered his mother doing the same thing to get his attention as a toddler. The more he thought about it, the hotter his arm became. Opening his eyes, he saw that not just his hand was on fire, but his entire arm! Flapping behind him was a dragon wing made of pure fire. The wild girl had stopped flailing and screaming, mesmerized by his display.

“Do you know what these marks are?” Cinder asked her, to which she replied in her strange tongue.

“She said ‘It is the blessing of the Spirit of Creation, a sacred marking only I have been given.’, or at least that is a rough translation. We haven’t had the time to sit with a local long enough to make a fully reliable translator.” Loader Bot explained to him.

“Are you able to ‘rough translate’ back to her?” Cinder asked it.

“With a successful delivery rate of 85%. We are working out the kinks as we decipher more phrases and words of their language.” Loader Bot answered.

“Tell her that I want to see her face.” Cinder ordered, and Loader Bot did so.

The girl was hesitant for a minute, but slowly she removed her mantle showing that it made up a large portion of her poofy hair. She then took off her mask revealing that the horns were actually attached to her head. She had sharp animalistic teeth with two canines just barely sticking up out of her mouth from her bottom jaw. From appearances alone it looked like she didn’t have the right side marked. Cinder slowly put his flame hand up to the hologrid wall and she put her hand up to meet it. There was a silent moment of understanding between the two, when all of a spark fired between their hands causing Cinder to begin having flashes of a strange place and strange beings. The girl experienced a similar vision, crying out in pain. Cinder’s arm went out as he fell backward, a soldier catching him. The girl fell to the floor, remaining still a solid minute before starting to pick herself up.

“That hurt…” Cinder groaned, rubbing his hand.

“The Spirits must not favor me…” the girl spoke, startling Cinder.

“I… I can understand you…” Cinder stated, flabbergasted.

“I can understand you too. Is this The Spirit of Creation’s doing?” she questioned cocking her head.

“_ Did almost touching cause some kind of reaction? This is kinda creepy, but at the same time helpful… _”

“I need to go to that structure. Will you take me there?” Cinder asked her.

“It is sacred ground. The Spirit of Retribution strikes down any who attempt to enter.” she answered.

“You can understand her?” Loader Bot asked him.

“Yeah. Our tattoos seem to be able to let us talk somehow. I won’t knock it, since it means I can communicate in some way.” Cinder nodded.

“Ask her why she’s sabotaging our equipment.” Loader Bot ordered.

“The commander here wants to know why you’re sabotaging their equipment.” Cinder told her.

“They trespass on sacred ground with those hard monsters… they are not welcome…” she snarled.

“She says wherever you guys are exploring is also ‘sacred ground’.” Cinder told Loader Bot.

“This forest is our sacred land. You trespass merely by being here.” she told him.

“You can’t own a whole forest, realistically.” Cinder told her.

“How can you also be blessed by the Spirit of Creation yet have no understanding of protecting sacred ground…?” she pondered, looking him over.

“Look, if you keep interfering with them things likely won’t end well for the natives. I’m here for whatever is inside that structure so that’s my objective.” Cinder told her.

“Invaders will be smitten by the Spirits.” she huffed.

“Ever hear of a thing called a gun?” Cinder asked, showing his pistol to her.

“Gun…?”

“It uses the power of the ‘Spirit of Death’ to deliver a swift end to things from long range. We don’t need to use them if the locals don’t get anyone mad.” Cinder explained, shooting a dummy across the way causing it to combust with raging flames.

“The Spirit of Death has betrayed the Order of Spirits…?” she whimpered, looking at the ashen remains of the target dummy.

“_ I feel bad intimidating her, but I’m not getting anywhere trying to be Mr. Nice Guy. _”

“Once morning comes, you will take me to that structure. I will get there one way or another, and I don’t have a good grip of my powers yet. If I had to use my powers because I get lost it’d be unfortunate with so many flammable things around.” Cinder told her.

“I get it, I get… I’ll take you…” she whimpered.

“_ As if I know how to actually use them in battle… but she bought my bluff, so I should be in the clear for now. _”

Morning soon came and the girl was released from the cage, with thick metal handcuffs used to bind her wrists together. She whimpered like an animal trying to push them off with her feet.

“That is so that you do not get any ideas about running away. It is synched up to his genetic code and will only open if he says so. Get too far from him and it will also explode, leaving nothing of you behind.” Loader Bot told her.

“What did he say?” she asked Cinder.

“Stick close to me and I can take the cuffs off you when we arrive at the spire.” he told her, happy to leave out the self destruct function.

She began to lead him into the wilds and Cinder couldn’t help having questions for her. The problem was where should he start? It was usually the others who did the talking. Years of being along for the ride had stunted his conversational skills some.

“So uh, we never introduced ourselves. My name is Cinder. What’s your name?” he asked her.

“Name?” she replied, gazing around to look for predators.

“You know, your name? What do your people call you?” he explained.

“We do not bear these ‘names’ that you speak of. We simply address each other by our most prominent feature. I am often addressed as ‘monster’ or ‘hybrid’, because I have so many features of different creatures. I am only accepted because the Spirits accepted me and bestowed upon me divine markings. Otherwise I would be treated like a wild animal.” she told him, sniffing a trail in the dirt.

“I see. Can I call you… Hira then?” he asked her.

“What is this ‘Hira’?” she questioned.

“Hira is a monster in a children’s tale. They look monstrous, but they actually have the sentience of a person. All Hira ever wanted was a friend, but everyone was repulsed by its appearance and drove it off. One day it met a blind human who couldn’t see that Hira was hideous, and befriended them. Eventually Hira’s secret gets outed to their newfound friend, and they say they don’t care. It was Hira’s personality and kindness that mattered to him.” he explained.

“What happened to Hira after that?” she asked, her tail wagging a bit seeming to be enticed by the story.

“Hira and their friend were together until the end of their days.” he answered.

“That’s a sweet story. Most stories involving monsters in my tribe always end with the monster dying horribly, reminded of its role in nature.” she told him.

“Um. So, do you mind if I call you Hira…? Now that you know the story behind the name.” he asked.

“I do not mind. It is more respectable than monster or hybrid, to say the least.” she replied.

Before long they came to the black steps of the spire. Lining the left and right sides of the stairway were guardians, but they looked to be dormant. When Cinder went to take a step she put her tail up against his chest to hold him back.

“This is sacred ground. If they attack they will go for the kill. Remove these bindings first, please.” she requested.

“Yeah. It’d be bad if you couldn’t defend yourself.” he shrugged.

He then scanned his eye on the slot and they popped off, startling him. He half expected her to turn tail and run the minute they were off, but she surprisingly began to lead on up the stairs. Cinder kept a hand on his holster, eyeing the guardians carefully. At the top of the stairs was a platform with an odd pedestal bearing two holes in it. Ahead of that was the immense spire - their destination.

“Within are the Spirits.” Hira told him.

“So is opening it tied to this thing?” Cinder asked, examining the pedestal.

“Don’t touch that! Only the elders can!” she gasped, reaching for his hand.

It was too late. He touched it with his red marked hand and one of the holes sucked his hand in causing some kind of whirring to begin emanating from the facility ahead. He tried to pull it out but something had a hold of him. He put his other hand on the pedestal to try and push causing the second hold to suck that hand in. Red and purple energy then began to fill up the platform’s many crevices and marks making Hira nervous. The entire place then began to shake violently as ahead of them the doors to the spire began to open up. Once they gonged indicating they were fully open the holes finally released Cinder, causing him to fall over.

“So that’s how it opens…” he groaned, slowly getting to his feet.

“Oh…oh this isn’t good…oh…the elders are going to be furious…” Hira whimpered, looking back and forth between the jungle and the doors.

“Ah don’t sweat it. Let’s just head inside.” Cinder smiled indifferently.

“What?!”

“Come on.” he told her, taking her hand to pull her along.

Once inside of the facility the doors closed behind them. That meant no going back. Hira was shy as a sheep the entire descent. Along the way they saw various experimentation equipment. Just like the place that Cinder got his powers, creatures from other worlds had been encased in the red gel. There were considerably more guardians lying dormant in this facility though. They soon arrived at a room with an immense skylight going all the way to the top of the spire. In the middle was an iron maiden similar to the one he found himself in, but the left door had the purple crystals all broken apart. The right door had blue crystal spikes in it.

“Was it this that gave you your markings?” he asked her.

“Yes. The Herald of the Spirits.” she answered, touching the table part.

“One of these gave me my markings too. I think yours is a job half done though.” he told her.

“Half done?” she raised an eyebrow.

“Look at me. Both sides of my body are marked. You have the purple marks, but you don’t have marks on your other side.” he explained, taking his jacket off to show her.

“Why would the Spirits leave me half finished?” she questioned.

“I dunno, but I have a hunch that if we finish the job here we might be able to unlock something.” he theorized.

“How do we do that…?” she asked, looking nervously at the spiked door.

“I don’t know. So let’s look for something that could be an instruction manual or something.” he shrugged.

The two combed the room and Hira shrieked upon touching a terminal that roared to life at her fingertips. Cinder hurried over and text began flowing across the screen.

“What is this script?” Hira asked, cocking her head at an unnatural angle.

“Eridian. I can’t understand...wait a second.” Cinder spoke when an idea occurred to him.

He then put his left hand on the terminal and the screen staticked until the script changed to print. It was readable but it used a lot of technical jargon.

“Man, if only Tannis had come planetside with me.” he sighed.

“Someone say my name?” Tanis’s voice piped up.

“Doctor Tannis?!” he gasped, looking around.

“Your Echo, Cinder.” she sighed.

“Oh. Right.” he chuckled, lifting it up.

“I finally managed to get a signal. Do you know how hard it is to rig the Echonet to work on a backwater planet like Voracia X?” Tannis sighed.

“What’s that?” Hari asked, tilting her head as she looked at the screen.

“My Echo Device. It lets me keep in contact with my friends. This is Doctor Tannis, she’s the expert on this Eridian crap.” Cinder explained.

“Who’s that with you? Did you make friends with the locals of whatever planet you ended up on?” Tannis asked.

“This is Hira. She has the same marks that I do. Well, half of the marks I do. Can you make heads or tails of what this terminal is saying?” he replied, showing the terminal to the Echo.

“Oh my! These are detailed instructions on altering the genetic code! It rewrites some of your genetic data to be Eridian, allowing you to use their technology as if you yourself were one of them! The device known as an ‘Nano-rewriter’ is used for the process. One part of the body is written to be a catalyst while the other is written as a control to ensure it doesn’t go haywire. This terminal has the plans for electricity in them. The control was implemented but it seems the process was interrupted before the catalyst could be written.” Tannis geeked out.

“Uh-huh. Laymans?” Cinder asked.

“Your friend should obtain a special power like you, but she needs to get inside that Nano-rewriter for it. It’s better if she’s unconscious, since the process will be excruciatingly painful.” Tannis replied.

“What’d she say?” Hira asked.

“She said you gotta get in the machine and it’ll do the rest.” he replied.

“Oh, does she not understand me?” Tannis asked.

“We have some kind of link, so I can understand her and she can understand me.” he replied.

“Interesting. Well, have her get in the machine and I’ll walk you through it.” Tannis giggled.

Hira nervously got in the machine and the doors slammed closed on her making her gasp loudly. With Tannis instructing him, he turned on the machine causing the entire facility to roar to life. Hira then began to scream in agony as blue light flashed from the seams of the machine. Not just other machines came to life as he waited, but the guardians began to stir as well.

“Something tells me they aren’t looking to be friends.” Cinder grimaced, drawing his gun.

“The machine will take a bit to finish, so hold them off.” Tannis ordered.

The Lilith's Inferno’s ability to ignite targets came in handy as he opened fire on the first couple of guardians that rushed the room. He sighed a bit as more began charging down the stairs. While he reloaded an energy bullet whizzed by his head alerting him to staff wielding guardians flying in. Rolling to knock a table over to use as cover, he started returning fire when he’d get a break between barrages. Just when he thought he’d taken out the last of them a spear wielding guardian tackled him from the side knocking his gun away.

“Damn it!”

The guardian continued viciously trying to stab him with the spear as he dodged around. Cinder eventually disarmed the guardian and ran it through with its own spear when more guardians flew in. He made a mad dash for his gun only to find it out of ammo prompting a concerned whimper from him. The guardians then began chasing him around the room opening fire. He started to think about Lilith again and his arm began heating up, reminding him that he has fire in more than one way. He slid under a table dodging a dive bomb and then jumped on top of the table to swing his arm sending a wall of fire at the guardians, who were too slow to avoid it causing them to be turned to ash.

“Nice!” he cheered, and then noticed his arm completely ablaze.

More guardians then rushed in and he began hurling fireballs at them shattering their formation. One tried to spear him and he jumped, angling his body so it’d miss. He then grabbed the guardian by the face, igniting its whole body on fire. When he incinerated the final guardian that seemed to be the last of them as the Nano-rewriter dinged like a toasted. When the doors opened Hira very slowly sat up, her now tattooed left arm trembling. The markings were a light blue and seemed to spark a bit.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, approaching her as his arm extinguished.

“In excruciating pain…” she whimpered.

“Well, not sure what giving you the full set will do but-”

Before he could finish, both of their colored arms were forced to aim skyward as if by some unseen force. He unleashed a beam of flame while she unleashed a stream of electricity. The elements met at the top and caused a powerful surge through the facility that opened a hologram of Lilith before them.

“Mom…?” Cinder gasped.

“I knew you’d be able to find one of your fellow Chosen, Cinder.” Lilith smiled.

“Mom, why did you abandon me? Did I do something wrong?” he asked, starting to get emotional.

“I know that you have questions, but I don’t have the time to field them right now. I need to tell you where the next Angel Marker is.” Lilith replied, looking remorseful.

“You said when I’m older you’d explain everything. Well, it’s ten years later, so start explaining! Why am I on this scavenger hunt?!” Cinder demanded impatiently.

“I can’t explain in detail right now, so I need you to do as I say. The next Angel Marker is located in the village of locals who worship a spirit named Zarkha. It’s being used as their religious symbol, so you may have to take it by force.” Lilith told him.

“Mom, I need answers!” Cinder shouted, stomping his foot.

“**Firehawk, we are out of time. They are coming.**”

“Shit. Cinder, listen to me. Get that key, take her with you, and find the next Chosen. You’re my only hope of getting out of my fate alive. I’m counting on you.” Lilith told him before the hologram faded.

“Mom, wait!” Cinder cried lunging forward, but was too late.

“That was your mother?” Hira asked as he fell to his knees starting to cry.

“Son of a _ bitch _!” he screamed, slamming his fist on the ground causing a burst of smoke to fire into the air.

“Cinder, calm down…” she grimaced.

“Ten years! I wait ten years to see her again and all she has to say is continue a goddamn easter egg hunt that I didn’t ask for?! The least she could have done was apologize!” he screamed, clenching his fists tightly.

“Cinder, you will see her again!” she scolded, pulling his shoulder to make him look at her.

“How can you say that for sure?!” he scowled.

“She said that you are her only chance of surviving some kind of fate, right? That means that she is counting on you to save her. I’m part of it too from the sounds of it. I’m willing to help, but you have to pull it together.” she lectured.

“Yeah...yeah you’re right...she...I’ll just make sure I get every single detail out of her when we meet face to face again. I won’t let her out of it either...” he nodded, sniffling as he found the strength to get to his feet.

“Now, she said that the Angel Marker thing is being worshipped in my village? It won’t be easy to get it, but I can try talking to my father.” Hira told him.

“Your father? He the chief?” he raised an eyebrow.

“Yes. You can see why it’s a big deal if I’m a monster or hybrid. The chief’s daughter is to be strong, independant, and beautiful. Me? I’m seen as an abomination, pitied by the Spirits.” she nodded.

“Well let’s go see him then.”

The two made their exit from the facility and were instantly faced with a very large number of locals, all wielding crude spears and axes. Unlike Hira, each only seemed to bear one animalistic feature. They were all staring at the duo with sinister intent. After a long silence the most burly of them stepped forward wearing a skull mask like Hira’s.

“Father…” Hira swallowed nervously.

“_ You trespass on sacred ground...and dare enter Temple of the Spirits? _” he growled.

“Father, please understand-”

“_ Now you walk Path of Death… _” he snarled, gripping his spear hard enough to snap it in half.

“Father!”

“_ Path! Of! Death!!! _” he roared, making the tribe members howl and screech while pounding their chests.

“What’d he say?” Cinder asked.

“We have to walk the Path of Death…” she whimpered, cowering a bit.

“What’s the Path of Death?”

The two were then forcibly lifted and carried through the wilderness to what looked to be a cave opening in the floor. They were then unceremoniously thrown in, landing on a dirt floor illuminated by lava in pits around the room. Picking themselves up, they saw ahead of them was some kind of twisted obstacle course. There were traps and pitfalls as far as the eye can see, along with some not so friendly wildlife.

“Bad time to run out of bullets…” he groaned, and then felt his pocket finding something that he decided to leave alone.

“We can get through this. The worst I’ll get is exile from the clan.” Hira smiled weakly.

With Hira to guide the way they began to traverse the deadly pathways of the lava filled cavern. Cinder about had a heart attack when parts of the bridges began collapsing making him have to jump gaps. Dealing with the local Scissor Beasts, as Hira called them, was also difficult as Cinder’s flames had no effect. Scissor Beasts were large beetle-like animals with scissor-like tusks that can close and open at will to cut foes in half. They’d adapted to living in magma tubes, so their bodies were naturally attuned to being hotter than any heat fire could produce. Hira had to show him that the trick to beating a Scissor Beast unarmed is to outwit it. They tend to be stupid, continuing to charge even after missing you, so it’s very easy to bait them off cliffs.

In this case, they baited them into falling into the lava pits. By leaping up to grab onto protruding tree roots as a means of dodging them. From there it was on to the stalagmite and stalactite traps. The floor was even more unstable here as some could barely handle the weight of one of them let alone both at once. All it’d take was a single mistake to become skewered by the stalagmites below. There were also some platforms that’d yank you upward to be impaled by the stalactites on the ceiling too. Luckily Hira knew how to tell the safe ones apart from the bad ones and guided Cinder through. At the last jump the platform gave in on Cinder making him narrowly grab the edge of solid ground making Hira get his arms.

“Pull me up! Pull me up! Up, up, uh-hu-hu-hu-uuuuup!”

“I have you, calm down.”

After taking a few moments to steady his heart, Cinder managed to get to his feet. Hira then led him through hallways filled with flame geysers in the walls and the floor at points. The timing was erratic, so the two wound up taking a long time waiting for the optimal timing. Once through they came face to face with spiked rollers on slopes and swinging bars of bramble. Evading these traps was trickier than the others as the locals were in grassy windows up in the higher parts of the room shooting arrows at their feet. Several times Cinder received small cuts from passing arrows. Hira was having no issues dodging the arrows. She was used to it by now. After getting through they reached a grassy pathway leading up to a large circular arena. Waiting there was the chief. He looked dumbfounded as Cinder and Hira caught their breaths.

“_ Can...not...be… _” he huffed.

“There...we walked your Path of Death. You negotiate. I’m gonna take five...” Cinder spoke, panting heavily as he walked to the left a bit.

“Father. I have been chosen by the Spirits to help with a greater purpose. That is why I entered the temple. He is also chosen and came here to learn of the next step. We will need the Holy Relic.” Hira told him.

“_ Out of question. Relic stays. You dare ask for it after your transgressions…? _” he snarled.

“If I have to, I will take it by force.” she growled.

“_ I will stain my hands in your blood, like I should have done upon your birth! _” he roared, stamping his foot as he readied his arms.

Thinking quick, Cinder reached into his pocket as he drew his gun.

“Hey!” Cinder shouted, making him look over.

** _BANG_ **

The chief’s mask shattered with embers flying all over as he fell backward, making Hira scream in horror. She then looked to Cinder, who was aiming the Lilith's Inferno’s smoking barrel at him.

“You killed him!” she shrieked, kneeling down by him.

“He’s fine. I hit the top of the mask so I wouldn’t kill him.” Cinder told her, holstering his gun.

“_ W-W-What…? _” the chief whimpered, looking like he’d just seen God.

“Listen up! This…? Is my BOOMstick!” he roared, making the locals hidden in the windows cower back.

“Cinder…” she gasped.

“I’m sick of you people and I’ve only been on this planet for roughly twenty-four hours! A father trying to kill his own daughter?! The hell is wrong with you people?! We’re taking that damn Angel Marker and if any of you tries to stop us…!” he threatened, firing through an empty window making the locals shriek and duck for cover as flames were left in the window sill.

“I don’t think they can understand you, Cinder.” she stated.

“They get the message well enough.” he huffed, holstering his gun.

“I’m sorry, father. I will return one day and explain everything.” Hira told him before hurrying to guide Cinder out.

When they got out into the wilderness Cinder almost fell over, startling Hira. His expression was no longer fury, but rather pure unadulterated fear.

“I’ve never pointed a gun at a living person ever...oh man that was scary. If my aim had been even a little off I really would have killed him. I just committed to the bit after that and now I’ve got an entire tribe of locals scared of me. I’m sure I just broke at least ten rules of underdeveloped interaction…” he whimpered, his eyes unable to focus on any one direction.

“So you weren’t aiming to kill him…” she sighed with relief.

“Truth be told, I’ve never killed anyone. Animals, sure, but never people. If faced with the do or die choice, I don’t think I’d be able to pull the trigger on a kill shot. To cripple maybe, but not to kill.” he confessed.

“You had me worried that I was going to be traveling with a psychopath.” she chuckled, helping him to his feet.

“Well. Let’s get that key. I’m sure Captain Ava is going to want a status report sooner than later.” he smiled wryly.

“Captain who?” she questioned.

“You’ll see soon enough.” he shrugged.

She then proceeded to lead him to her village, which seemed devoid of life entirely. There was a vine-covered stone shrine in the center with a similar blade hilt to the one on Sanctuary in the center of it. Hira nervously took it from the shrine and very nervously handed it to Cinder, who put it in his pouch. With a nod, the two returned to the Atlas Encampment and informed Loader Bot of what happened.

“I see. I wish you safe travels in your quest.” Loader Bot nodded.

“Yeah. Good luck colonizing this place. The locals can get a bit crazy.” Cinder smiled.

He then led Hira through the path he’d taken and they arrived to find the Roland 2 covered in leaves and bird poo. After cleaning the windshields enough to see, he showed Hira how to get inside. She was clinging very tight to her seat as they took off and entered orbit. Seeing Sanctuary blew her mind as the docking bay doors opened letting them inside. After a decontamination process, the Roland 2 let them out.

“Jeez, boy, what’s you do to the poor thing?!” Ellie asked, looking at the messy state of the ship.

“Mission took longer than anticipated, so nature happened.” he chuckled apologetically.

“I’m just glad that you’re back in one piece, Sugar.” Moxxi smiled, approaching them from the doorway.

“Miss Moxxi. I’m glad to be back.” he nodded.

“Always so formal, Cinder. Those manners of yours are going to land you quite the catch some day.” she giggled, stroking his cheek making him blush a bit.

“So who’s this cutie pie ya got with you?” Ellie asked, making Hira hide behind Cinder.

“This is Hira. She’s like me, chosen by whatever it is that mom is preparing for. Hira, these are some of the ship’s crew - Miss Moxxi and Miss Ellie.” he introduced them.

“Hmm, a little wild around the edges, but I see quite the charmer in her.” Moxxi smirked.

“Ma, quit thirstin’ over the young ‘uns.” Ellie groaned.

“Oh right. We have a link of some kind so we can understand each other, but she doesn’t understand our language otherwise.” he explained.

“Cinder to the bridge, captain’s orders.” Belax ordered over the intercom.

“Come on. Time to meet with Ava.” Cinder smiled, taking Hira’s hand.

He led her to the bridge where Ava and Tannis were talking. Upon seeing them a pleased smile came to Ava’s face.

“Glad to see that you’re back in one piece.” Ava nodded.

“It got pretty hairy down there.” Cinder chuckled.

“So, other than a new friend what did you bring back?” Tanis asked, prompting Cinder to present the Angel Marker.

“This. Mom wants us to gather the ‘Chosen’, those like me and Hira. I don’t know how many there are but these keys will apparently take us to each planet that we need to go to.” he explained.

“Oh no, you ain’t plugging that thing into me a second time! You about blew the engines for good!” Balex exclaimed.

“Relax, this time we’ll be nice and gentle. Tannis already created and installed a slot to insert them.” Ava smirked.

“When did that happen?!” Balex cried.

“While you were busy trying to raise Cinder’s Echo.” Tannis giggled.

“Let’s plug her in.” Cinder smiled, walking up to the newly installed slot.

“Hold it. First, we need to get your friend settled and properly trained to speak our language...and given a very thorough bath. You can’t just take a local off world and expect them to pick up the language like it is nothing.” Tannis told him.

“True. It will also be easier on all of us to be able to communicate.” Ava shrugged.

“Oh. Yeah. Sorry.” he laughed.

“What are they saying…?” Hira asked, looking extremely lost.

“We’re going to teach you our language so you can communicate. They’re also going to give you a bath and change your clothes.” he explained.

“My clothes aren’t that bad are they…?” she questioned, looking herself over.

“_ So she doesn’t object to the bath… _” he thought quietly.

_ Meanwhile, on a planet where dark clouds cover the sky 3/4ths of the time, flames bathed a home. Its sole resident, a literally white-skinned masculine young man with very long spiky black hair, stood and watched as it burned. He dressed in black boots with straps to hold them on, somewhat baggy dark yellow cargo pants with four black belts holding them up, a black muscle shirt, black gauntlets with green energy pulsing through them, and a metal face mask hiding all but his cold lifeless yellow eyes. Tattooed on his right arms were purple marks, and on the left were green ones. The ground he stood on was an ashen black with many dead trees here and there. When the fire went out, he turned and walked away. _


	3. Necrophalamortis

It had been hours since Hira disappeared with Moxxi and Ellie. Cinder was lying on his bed wondering what was taking so long when someone knocked on his door.

“It’s open.” he replied, sitting up.

The door opened and Hira entered, but looked completely transformed. Her hair had been trimmed and tidied up before tying it back into a ponytail. Her body was devoid of any dirt and in fact seemed to sparkle a little. Even her horns looked to have been given a good sanding to make them look smooth. She was dressed in red boots, black denim pants with a hole in the back to accommodate her tail, a light blue short sleeved top with a black combat vest over it, and black gloves with metal plates on the backs. Holstered above her posterior was a Jakobs brand assault rifle.

“How do I look…?” she asked nervously, twiddling her fingers.

“G-Good! Good. You look… very good.” he nodded quickly, clearing his throat a bit.

“The hard part was her horns and claws. They were tougher than normal nails because they’re meant for hunting and tree climbing.” Moxxi sighed as she entered after her.

“How do you know that?” he asked her.

“Bits and pieces of bark and dried blood under her nails. Poor girl must not have had any reliable means of cleaning under them.” Moxxi replied.

“So what took so long?” Cinder asked them.

“The man who has ‘guns’ was arguing with this nice lady. I couldn’t understand the conversation.” Hira answered.

“That’d be Marcus. I think she told him to give it for free so he pitched a fit.” Cinder chuckled.

“By the way, when do I start learning your language?” Hira asked him.

“I think Doctor Tannis is setting that up.” he replied, getting off the bed.

“Okay. Crimson Raiders to the bridge, newbie to Doctor Tannis’s office.” Balex announced.

“What’d the voice say?” Hira asked, looking around.

“You’re going to go see Doctor Tannis now. I have to go to the bridge with Miss Moxxi.” he explained, patting her shoulder.

Cinder and Moxxi then proceeded to the bridge where Marcus and Ellie were already waiting. The air seemed happy at least.

“Good news. Ellie was able to fix communications and re-established contact with Planet Miotis, so we’re going back to pick up the rest of the team before moving forward.” Ava announced.

“Wonderful.” Moxxi smiled.

“Is that all?” Marcus asked.

“One more thing. Tannis deciphered some of the Eridian marks on Cinder’s body. From what I was able to make out from the technical mumbo jumbo she spat out, they do a lot more than just make Cinder’s genetics believe he has Eridian blood. They override and work around a very hard coded law of nature - Sirens are female and there are only seven at a given time. Apparently the ability to use Lilith’s power is in his genetics, being her son, but under normal circumstances he should be unable to use it. Can anyone guess why?” Ava explained.

“Two reasons: he’s a man, and Lilith is still alive and kickin’.” Moxxi smirked.

“Exactly. So do you think that maybe every one of these ‘Chosen’ might have a connection to Sirens somehow?” Ava posed to them.

“I dunno. The Sirens that we know of are you, Doctor Tannis, Miss Amara, and mom. I somehow doubt that Hira has a connection to any of them. I’d say we have a connection to whoever mom is traveling with, since they’re the ones who marked us like this.” Cinder shrugged.

“Okay, but we at least know that yours comes from being related to Lilith. Tannis said she’s going to need to examine the entirety of your body later to get more excerpts to translate.” Ava told him.

“Sounds wild, I love lying down on a cold table while an older woman translates my tattoos…” he sighed heavily, very unenthusiastic.

“If it’s any consolation, your friend is going to get thoroughly examined too.” Ava chuckled apologetically.

“Personally that makes it awkward, because Tannis will cross reference our tattoos by having us in the same room.” he told her.

“Look on the bright side. You could be strapped to a table and dissected as a freak of nature.” Claptrap stated.

“Uh...thanks Claptrap...I think…?” Cinder replied, unsure how to respond.

“Any time, old buddy.”

“I’ll get our course squared away. Everyone get ready, warp is in five minutes.” Ava ordered.

“I’ll take that time to check in on Hira.” Cinder nodded.

When Cinder entered the medical office he found Hira strapped to a reclined chair with a strange helmet on. He went to say something when the helmet dinged like a toaster and seconds later popped off revealing Hira, who looked frazzled.

“Is she okay?” he asked Tannis.

“I just put her through my soon-to-be-patented _ Knowledge Speedrunner _ machine. What could take weeks, months, or even years to learn can be accomplished in minutes thanks to this wonderful marvel of technology. I have already thoroughly tested it on a few volunteers and know for sure that it works.” Tannis explained, helping Hira sit up.

“Hira, can you understand what Doctor Tannis says now?” he asked her.

“Yes...but I feel woozy…” she nodded.

“That is to be expected. Your brain is still processing all of the information that was just fired through like a shotgun slug at point blank, after all. Oh, and thanks to the information exchange during the procedure I learned a fascinating fact about her species. She has two hearts: only one is active at a time, meaning the second is a reserve in case something happens to her. Her entire body has different means of ensuring survival.” Tannis giggled.

“Cool. Warp’s in a few minutes.” Cinder smiled.

“In that case, Miss Hira, you’ll want to remain sitting. This trash can here will catch your post-warp bile excretion.” Tannis replied, putting a trash can by Hira.

“My wha?”

At that moment the ship entered warp making Cinder and Tannis have to maneuver themselves to keep balance. When it stopped Cinder turned away as Hira experienced the classic First-Warp Sickness. After she got over it he escorted her to the bridge. Out of the viewport they could see Planet Miotis, and the Roland 2 heading planetside.

“So, how was your first time warping?” Ava asked Hira.

“I feel like my two stomachs got turned inside out…” she groaned.

“That’s how everyone’s first time warping is. Doctor Tannis can give you some meds to help with it before we plug in the Angel Marker.” Cinder chuckled.

“Once the Roland 2 returns we’ll get things underway. So you two standby here while I go brief the others.” Ava smiled.

“So, how does it feel to be lightyears away from your home planet?” Cinder asked Hira as Ava left.

“Honest? It all happened so fast that I’m still registering it. I knew those red men weren’t from my world, but I was always skeptical. Now here I am, among the stars and able to speak an entire other language.” she smiled.

“I’d take you to my favorite worlds to relax, but with everything going on there isn’t much time for leisure.” Cinder chuckled.

“So this is the newbie!” Brick’s distinctive voice roared.

The big man then entered the bridge and gave Hira a big hug making her groan a little. Following him were Mordecai and Tina.

“Ease up man, don’t break her.” Mordecai sighed.

“All of the fresh meat get a big hug, Mordy. Gotta make ‘em feel welcome.” Brick smiled as he set her down.

“He’s friendly…” Hira spoke as she tried to keep her balance.

“Omigosh! She really does have horns and a tail! That is so cool! I’ve always wanted a dragon best friend!” Tina squealed, zipping around Hira to look over every aspect of her body.

“Dragon?” Hira questioned.

“It’s a beast of mythology that can fly and breathe fire. Anyway, this is Brick and that’s Tina. This guy here is Mordecai. They’re my awesome uncles and cousin.” Cinder introduced them.

“Nice to meet ya. Sorry about these two. They’re always this energetic, but you’ll get used to it.” Mordecai smiled, extending his hand.

“I’m Hira. It’s nice to meet you.” she nodded, shaking with him.

“Where’s Sir Hammerlock?” Cinder asked them.

“Getting his husband caught up on everything that’s happened so far. He’ll be by later.” Brick answered.

“Okay. Now that everyone’s onboard, let’s insert that Angel Marker.” Ava smiled, returning to the bridge.

Cinder and Hira then approached the drive slot where he tried to put in the marker, but nothing happened. He scratched his head a little and then handed it to Hira so she could try, but it didn’t do anything when she did it either.

“Maybe you two have to do it together?” Balex suggested.

“Worth a shot.” Cinder nodded.

Cinder and Hira then both held onto it and that made their tattoos glow. A green blade then formed from the marker. They then inserted it into the drive making veins in the device light up as the galactic map popped up in the center console and started to glitch heavily. The lights then began flickering and turning off and on at random.

“Balex…? Everything cool…?” Cinder asked.

“Our destination takes us balls deep into uncharted territory, ya’ll. The galaxy map doesn’t even have a name for the sector it’s in.” Balex replied.

“So what’s with the light show?” Brick asked.

“The system can barely handle all the energy contained in the marker. I’ll chart the course and get us there before something shorts out, so hold onto your butts. Navigated, bitches!” Balex replied.

The ship then entered warp, but a green energy field surrounded Sanctuary causing everyone to lose their footing. They had to hold onto things nailed onto the floor to keep from flying back toward the door. How fast was the ship going to produce this much turbulence compared to normal warp? Just like before several of the terminals in the room burst with sparks and alarms began going off. The ship then came to a halt before a planet that was almost entirely dark grey with purple lines here and there.

“Ow… Balex…? Where are we…?” Cinder groaned, slowly picking himself from the floor.

“According to the Angel Marker, Planet Avias. Huh, weird. It says the planet’s known for its lush farmlands and local hospitality. What I’m detecting is a dead hellscape.” Balex answered.

“How do we divide the teams, Ava?” Brick asked the commander.

“Cinder, Hira, and Mordy go planetside. Cinder and Hira will be scouts while Mordecai keeps a keen eye at their backs. Provide support if anything tries to give them trouble.” Ava ordered.

“You got it.” Mordecai saluted.

“Is Mordecai good?” Hira asked Cinder.

“He’s a master of the sniper rifle and a dead eye shot. He can hit a can off a pole from 4,000 meters. We won’t have anything to worry about with him at our backs.” Cinder smiled.

“Come on, kid, you’re gonna make me blush.” Mordecai blushed.

“What, no base team?” Tina asked.

“Not this time. The planet looking the way it does, it’s too dangerous to have more than one team down there until we know more.” Ava answered, crossing her arms.

“Oh right. Cinder, Marcus wanted you to go see him. Said he had a present for ya.” Balex announced.

“A present? Wonder who strong armed him.” Cinder chuckled.

Cinder’s team then reported to Marcus Munitions where the arms dealer was cleaning some merchandise. A sly grin came to his face upon spotting them.

“Welcome! I see you got my message.” Marcus chuckled.

“So I’m told you have a present for me?” Cinder asked him.

“Yes, I do. I was paid good money to make sure it gets to you. A little present from the Atlas Corporation for helping solve their saboteur problem.” he replied, tossing him an odd long u-shaped gun part.

“What’s this?” he questioned, looking it over.

“A gun mod. Some guns are priceless, but they won’t be top of the line forever. So manufacturers found a way to give their guns a longer shelf life - modifications to improve the original product. That part there is a Focus Amplifier, it gives the gun a bit more weight and stability to reduce weapon sway. In other words, you’ll miss less.” Marcus explained.

“Cool. How do I use it?” Cinder smiled.

“It’s easy. Just slip it onto the barrel. The tech will make it conform to any gun you like, so they’re always worth buying.” the arms dealer smirked.

“Sweet.” Cinder chuckled, clicking it into place on his gun.

“I heard that you can break down unwanted guns to make mods yourself, but who knows what you would need to do that? Besides, wouldn’t you rather sell unwanted guns to your old friend Marcus?” the sly businessman laughed.

“That sounds cool. Anyway, later Marcus.” Cinder waved.

“Don’t have too much fun.” he grinned.

The trio then proceeded to the Roland 2 to begin heading down to the planet. Everything was going smoothly, until they pierced low orbit and came face to face with a powerful electrical storm. The turbulence was making it very hard for the ship to stay on course.

“No wonder we can’t see the planet's surface, the entire place is covered in storm clouds.” Mordecai pointed out as alarms in the vessel bean blaring when descending below the clouds.

Purple electricity then began surging through the ship causing the consoles to spark and go haywire. The speedometer and temperature gauges then both simultaneously exploded startling Cinder. The electricity then began to form a face at the main console.

“**LEAVE!!!!**” it screamed at them before fading, as a very loud alarm began ringing.

“What is that sound?!” Hira cried, holding her ears.

“We just lost the engines! We’re going down and fast, so I suggest that you hold onto something!” Cinder exclaimed.

Cinder tried his belt to keep the Roland 2 from crashing into any of the charred buildings on the planet surface, slapping against boulders and sliding through fields of rotting crops. When at last the ship touched down they kept sliding a good ways, headed for an Eridian Ruin. With little choice, the group worked together to shift their weight so the ship would turn and smack it with its side rather than the front. The lights in the vessel went out when it at last settled.

“Everyone okay?” Cinder asked.

“Minor bruising, but I’m good otherwise.” Mordecai groaned.

“Does my heart feeling like exploding count as being okay?” Hira asked nervously.

“That’s fine as long as it doesn’t explode for real.” Cinder sighed.

“What the hell was that voice?” Mordecai asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe the Chosen of this world knew we were coming?” Cinder replied.

“Either way, we can’t leave until the ship’s repaired.” the veteran sighed heavily.

“Doctor Tannis, do you copy?” Cinder asked, pulling out his Echo.

“Loud and clear.” the scientist replied.

“Ship crashed, but we’re fine.” he told her.

“Crashed? The Roland 2 is a very stable vessel. Were you shot down by some unfriendly locals?” Tannis asked.

“Not exactly. Some kind of force caused the ship’s engines to die, and the landing was less than stellar. Whatever it was, it wants us to leave.” Cinder explained.

“I see. I will set up an Echonet Beacon as quickly as I can so that Ellie can walk you through repairs.” Tannis told him.

“How are you able to contact her?” Hira asked.

“Doctor Tannis still has her Echonet Connection from Voracia, so I figured it’d still be functional.” he shrugged.

“Well, guess we’d better go check out the planet.” Mordecai sighed.

The moment the three left the ship they found the mysterious man standing there, his eyes fixed on them. Holstered at his hips were twin Jakobs shotguns with fine redwood finishing. His gaze almost felt like it was filled with murderous intent.

“Come for the vault, have you…?” he asked with an agitated tone.

“Vault?” Cinder cocked his head.

“Cinder, those marks. We found who we’re looking for.” Hira told him.

“Um, I’m Cinder. This is Hira and this is Mordecai. I know this is going to sound really weird...but you’re a Cho-”

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence.” he growled, aiming one of his guns prompting Mordecai to take aim.

“Hey now. There’s no need to get violent. I’m sure we can talk this out like adults.” Mordecai snarled.

“I’m gonna guess you were called that a lot and then something bad happened.” Cinder swallowed nervously.

“See the state of this planet? Plants dying? Lack of friendly locals? I did that, because I entered the vault. I’m no Chosen Hero. I’m a monster. So I’ll spend the rest of my days guarding the vault’s secrets from anyone else.” he huffed, holstering his gun.

“Well. We have no interest in the vault, so no problems there…?” Cinder chuckled nervously.

“You’re like us. You have Eridian Markings on your body and can use unique powers. Do you know where the Angel Marker is?” Hira asked.

“Why do you know about that…?” he asked, giving a confrontational glare at her.

“Because we each have one.” Cinder replied, pulling the previous two from his bag to show him.

“Take it and go.” he huffed, pulling one from his back pocket to toss to him.

“It won’t activate without you.” Cinder told him as he started to leave.

“You’ll figure something out.” he retorted.

“We also can’t leave yet. Ship’s in bad shape. It’s kind of counter intuitive when you think about it, since the voice told us to leave.” Cinder told him.

“The Voice of the Vault…? I don’t think they’re my only visitors...” he grumbled before suddenly taking off.

“Wait!” Cinder exclaimed, starting to chase after him.

“Cinder!” Hira shouted, hurrying to follow suit.

“Hold it you two!”

“Mordecai, you copy?” his Echo went off.

“Ellie?”

“Finally got through! I can finally get ya started on repairing the Roland 2.” Ellie giggled.

“I uh… hope those two don’t get themselves killed…” Mordecai groaned.

“Something happen?” Ellie asked.

“Nothing. Talon, go make sure those two don’t do something stupid.” Mordecai ordered his friend.

Talon eventually caught up with Cinder and Hira, perching on Cinder’s shoulder, as they watched drop ships deliver soldiers in white armored suits. The mysterious man was down there talking to their leader it seemed.

“If things fall through, we back him up.” Cinder whispered.

“Can you shoot someone?” Hira asked him.

“Can you?” he deflected the question.

“War between tribes is common among my race. Food, mates, watering holes - you name it, we’ve fought to the death over it. I’ve killed people enough times now that I’m used to it. Now whether I’m a good shot with a ‘gun’, as you called it, is another story.” she answered.

“_ I don’t know if I have the nerve… _”

He was dragged from his thoughts by gunfire. Looking down, he saw the mystery man practically dancing about opening fire with his shotguns. Rather than regular buckshot, they were firing slugs allowing him to hit from far away. Hira was the first to move from cover to slide down the hill to open fire with her gun. It took Cinder a few deep breaths to hurry down and start firing. Their addition caught the troops off guard allowing the man to score some cheeky headshots. Hira was nailing bodyshots, but Cinder’s shots seemed to keep whizzing by their heads making them dodge.

“Shit…” he groaned, taking cover to reload.

“Come on Cinder, you can do it. It’s do or die.” Hira encouraged him, scoring her first bloody headshot.

Talon began ripping through the enemy as well as Cinder continued to hesitate. He just didn’t have it in him to take a human life. He managed to strike their shoulders and knees, but couldn’t land any kill shots. When the last soldier fell, the mystery man turned his attention to them...but seemed a tad less hostile.

“Necrophalamortis.” he stated, holstering his guns.

“Huh?” Hira questioned.

“My name. Necrophalamortis. I hope you get your ship repaired soon.” he elaborated, turning away.

“Attention resident assholes of the planet! This is Commander Ogra of the Dahl Vault Force! Surrender the contents of the vault to us and die!” a voice from the sky roared.

“Isn’t it supposed to be ‘or die’?” Cinder raised a brow.

“I’ve dealt with them before, but not in these numbers. They just refuse to heed my warning about the vault…” he sighed.

“So Necro, what exactly happened when you entered the vault?” Cinder asked him.

“Necro?”

“Your name’s kind of a mouthful, so I shortened it.” he shrugged.

“Whatever suits you. When I entered that vault I drained the majority of the life force this planet has, killing off its inhabitants. Now I can raise the dead if I’m not careful, but lately it’s become a conscious action. There are just too many thieves and plunderers for me to handle on my own, and I’m running out of slugs.” he sighed.

“No buckshot?” Cinder asked.

“I ran out of that when your ship crashed through my stash.” he replied.

“Oh. Uh. Sorry about that…” Cinder smiled apologetically.

“You should focus on fixing your ship. I need to make sure no one can find the vault key.” Necro told him before walking off.

“He’s friendly when you get to know him.” Hira stated.

“Now I’m curious about this vault.” Cinder sighed.

“He already has enough on his plate.” Hira told him.

“No, think about it. He’s obviously guarding something right? If we were to take whatever is in there then he’d have to come with us to keep protecting it. He would also get to avoid guarding a vault with a glorified paperweight. It’s a win-win.” he smiled.

“I don’t know about this…” Hira groaned.

“Let’s report back to Mordecai.”

When the duo returned, Mordecai was already headlong into repairs. At the very least the ship’s lights were working again.

“Need anything?” Cinder asked, making him bang his head on the inside of a terminal.

“Yes, actually. Need machine parts. Think you can bring me some local vehicles or something?” he replied.

“Sure. Oh, and I’ve decided that we’re going to do some vault hunting.” Cinder nodded.

“You’re what?!” he exclaimed, pushing himself out of the terminal.

“Necro is guarding what’s inside. So if we take that with us then he’ll have to come with, right?” Cinder beamed.

“You’ll royally piss him off is what you’ll do.” Mordecai sighed.

“Better us than Dahl.” he shrugged.

“Back up, Dahl is here?” Mordy asked.

“According to Necro, they’re a constant pest that’s resorted to force in trying to take the vault from him. He’s been killing their forces for years.” Hira nodded.

“Sounds like Dahl all right. If I know them, they’ll consider us ‘competition’. Especially if you two got involved already. Looks like a vault hunt is our only option of getting out alive.” Mordecai sighed.

“We’ve got a plan then.” Cinder smiled.

“One problem.” Hira spoke up.

“What’s that?” Cinder asked her.

“You don’t have the heart to kill people, even when they’re shooting at you. If there is another confrontation you will essentially be useless.” she stated, making him jump a little.

“I can too! I’m just...being merciful. Cripple shots, you know? Live and let live…?” Cinder bluffed.

“Except that Necro and I finished off the ones you didn’t kill.”

“Come on, ease up on him. We taught Cinder a lot of things, but how to take a human life isn’t on the list and for good reason. You two go find those machine parts, and Talon will have your backs.” Mordecai told her.

“Yeah. Let’s go get ‘em.” Cinder chuckled nervously, robotically starting to walk.

Once they were gone, Mordecai rang up Brick on his Echo. A sullen look was plastered on his face.

“What’s up, Birdman?” Brick responded.

“Hey...you know how we vowed that we’d never teach Cinder the feeling of bloodlust?” Mordecai asked him.

“Yeah. We didn’t want Lil’s kid to come out as a bad egg. She’d roast us alive if he did, probably.” Brick replied.

“Well, it looks like it’s coming to bite us in the ass. Dahl is here and looking for a fight. His friend can kill readily, but he can’t do it. I’ve got Talon with him to pull his tail out of the fire when needed, but sooner than later we’re gonna have to break the camel’s back.” Mordy told him.

“Ha! I win the bet, Tina! I told ya I shoulda taught him how to punch stuff!” Brick laughed.

“What?!” her voice cried.

“Brick, come on man…” Mordecai groaned.

“Mordy you better tell me what’s happening down there! Shawty is not becoming a bloodthirsty monster on my watch!” Tina screamed into Brick’s Echo.

“Come on, Tina, you’re flying off the handle. I’m not saying he’s killing people.” Mordecai sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Meanwhile, Cinder and Hira eventually found what remained of a settlement. The wood was grey, but not decaying. They split up and investigated the houses, finding signs there definitely used to be life there...but something was off. It was a ghost town, but it felt like the people had only left recently. Inside of them was covered in dust, but nothing seemed broken. Opening the fridge was a mistake as a rancid smell came out making Cinder close it again immediately.

“Okay. Something isn’t right here.” Cinder stated.

“I know. These homes should look like they’ve been abandoned for years, right? They only appear to have been abandoned for three or four.” Hira told him.

“How can you tell that?” he asked.

“I have very good hunting skills. You forget, I lived in a jungle my whole life.” she replied.

“Oh. Right.”

“We can find an abandoned vehicle behind the house over there, by the way.” Hira pointed out.

“Sweet.”

They made their way over and easily lifted the garage door together to reveal a Dahl Outrunner. They knew it was Dahl property because it had the logo plastered on the side. Luck seemed to be on their side since the keys were in the ignition.

“Think it’s got any fuel left?” Cinder asked, getting in the driver’s seat.

“Only one way to find out.” Hira replied, climbing into the gunner seat.

He turned the key and the car roared to life, headlights barely shining through the dusty front. The fuel gauge showed a half tank, perfectly enough to get back to Mordecai. Cinder took his driving carefully, prioritizing not going on a flipping adventure. Soon they arrived back at the Roland 2 to find many bodies piled around the place. The two then quickly got out and knocked on the door.

“Mordecai! Mordecai are you okay?!” Cinder exclaimed.

“You two? You get a vehicle?” he replied as the door opened.

“I see Dahl paid you a visit.” Hira observed.

“Man am I glad to see you two in good health. Bastards tried to get the jump on me.” Mordecai laughed, patting their shoulders.

“Looks like they got what they deserved.” Cinder nodded, nervously staring at the bodies.

“You got a vehicle? Nice. Bring it in here.” he smiled.

After doing so, the three worked together to dismantle it for parts. The repair process went a bit smoother with Cinder and Hira to lend a hand. Ellie’s instructions were clear and concise so they couldn’t mess it up. By sundown, the Roland 2 was fully functional again. That meant they could fabricate food to fill their growling stomachs. After eating, Cinder couldn’t help but stare out into the now very dark landscape. It had begun storming as well.

“Something wrong, kid?” Mordy asked.

“I can’t help but think about Necro, you know? When Hira and I went into town, she said the locals have only been gone three or four years. Necro made it sound like they’d been gone longer than that. It makes me wonder if he was telling the whole truth in his story.” Cinder replied.

“If he’s been alone this whole time then he probably doesn’t know how many years have passed since everyone died, so he’s estimating. I mean, on top of it ammo reserves would only last so long right?” Mordecai pointed out.

“My question is how he keeps himself fed. There isn’t anything to eat on this planet.” Hira shrugged.

“Maybe he does some farming himself and sustains off of that?” Cinder suggested.

Their conversation was interrupted by gunfire not far off in the night. Peering out, Cinder couldn’t see anything at all. Whatever was going on, he could hear vehicles too.

“I’m going to investigate.” Cinder told them.

“You can’t be serious? It’s almost pitch black out there.” Mordy objected.

“I have night vision.” Hira stated, getting up.

“I can use a flashlight too.” Cinder nodded.

“You’d be spotted a mile away with that. I’ve got spare night goggles. If you’re insistent on going then I’m going too.” Mordecai sighed, getting up to stretch.

“Like I could stop you anyway.” Cinder smiled.

After gearing up, the three took off into the night. Eventually they spotted a Dahl caravan with heavily armored vehicles forming a circle around one more car that looked to be carrying cargo. They had flood lights shining out into the dark, trying to spot their assailant. Now and again the team could see Necro attack a trooper from behind, yank them from their vehicle into the dark, and seconds later the trooper’s screams would be silenced by a single gunshot as the others fired blindly in that direction.

“They must have pissed him off royal.” Mordecai whispered.

“I think they have something that Necro doesn’t want them having.” Hira suggested.

“The vault key?” Cinder guessed.

“What do you say we give ‘em a hand? Espionage style.” Mordecai smirked.

“We’ll need to break the circle somehow.” Cinder told him.

“Leave that to me. Once the way’s clear, steal the prize and hightail it. I’ll regroup with you back at the ship.” he ordered.

Mordecai then waited for the next takedown to rush in and sneak his way into one of the armored cars causing it to rock and shake. The main engine on it then revved and soon the vehicle plowed out of position causing more confusion among the troops, giving Necro another chance to jump them. Cinder and Hira then took that chance to sprint at the main prize, hijack it, and take off into the night. A few of the vehicles took off attempting to give chase.

“Hira, I’ve got an idea to shake ‘em, don’t fire the cannon.” Cinder told her, before turning the headlights off.

“Of course. They can’t follow us if they can’t see where we went.” Hira smiled.

“Just in case, let’s make some fake trails.” Cinder smiled.

After some extensive off-roading, the duo took the prize back to the Roland 2. There they unloaded the cargo and began to inspect it. One of the boxes had a purple light emanating from within. Opening it, they found a purple crystal skull with devil horns on the sides of the head protruding forward. There was an Eridian character on the forehead.

“The vault key?” Cinder raised a brow.

“Maybe. It has a mark like those we’ve seen on it.” Hira shrugged.

“I can see why Necro was dead set on taking them out now. If it weren’t something valuable I doubt he’d have put so much effort into getting it back.” Cinder mused.

“Hey, do you think that Eridian facility outside is the vault?” she asked.

“We can find out. Either way Necro knows where we are, so it’s only a matter of time until he shows up to take it back.” Cinder replied, picking up the skull.

The duo then proceeded up the steps of the facility where they found a definite key slot. Putting the skull in, the door began to open as the skull shattered turning to dust. The two then looked at each other very nervously before entering. Inside was another lab, which meant that this is where Necro got his marks. On the walls were murals of Necro’s people and Guardians shaking hands. At the bottom where a busted iron maiden was they saw the answer. Necro, likely when he was a small, being revered by his people as a saint of some kind. No… not a saint…

“A chosen hero.” Cinder stated.

“So, what happened then?” Hira asked.

“He told us. He opened the vault when he was only supposed to guard it. Catastrophe followed.” Cinder answered, looking at a mural on the ceiling that had a grown Necro standing before a vault symbol.

“It wasn’t me who opened it.” Necro’s voice stated, making both almost leave their skin and turn around to see him standing there.

“Why tell us you did then?” Cinder asked.

“Because I may as well have. I failed my duty as its protector. I was weak, because I slacked off. No one ever had an interest in the vault, so I saw no point in sticking close to it. I chose to wear its key as an accessory rather than hide it for protection.” Necro confessed, walking forward to touch one of the murals.

“So you hate the title of ‘Chosen’ because you failed your duty.” Cinder spoke, processing it.

“Dahl is why the vault was opened, and why I hate that title. The townspeople were furious that I refused to use the technology in the vault to fight back. So they took the key by force...and opened the vault. What they found was death. The Necromancer, a monster able to raise the dead to do their bidding, was trapped inside as a second line of defense. I devoured it with my power, but by that point no one was left. I was completely alone, because of my failure to protect the only thing that mattered. This one was a warning of what would happen...should I fail in my duties.” Necro explained to them, putting his hand on a tapestry.

He then ripped it off the wall to reveal one more mural. Necro, whose eyes were glowing with a green flame, and behind him stood a massive skeletal monstrosity. At his sides were hordes of skeletons.

“When you think about it, this could also be interpreted as a ‘last resort’ kind of thing.” Cinder stated, approaching it.

“How do you mean?” Necro asked.

“Maybe the Eridians put the Necromancer there specifically for you to use in the event of an emergency. It’s what was behind the Necromancer that needed to be guarded right? So just maybe the residents saw it that way and tried to tell you that you need to use its power. Dahl killed people right? So you could have raised the dead to take their revenge while you protect the vault’s contents.” Cinder explained.

“One could see it that way. It is too little too late now though.” Necro sighed.

“What’s even in the vault anyway?” Cinder asked him.

“A communication device of some kind. I was told to keep it safe, that some day what it is for will become clear.” he answered.

“I have a theory, if you’re willing to hear us out.” Cinder told him.

“I can humor you…” he sighed.

“Maybe you’re supposed to wait for us to come? Everything we’ve come across looked to have been set up ahead of time. So what if this is too? We can share memories if we touch hands, so I can let that vouch for me. Hira and I did when we touched for the first time.” Cinder explained, extending his hand.

“I will see if your memories are trustworthy.” Necro grumbled, taking his hand.

Just like with Hira, there was an extensive memory exchange. Cinder saw everything Necro had just described - Dahl attacking, his people forcing the vault open, and him absorbing The Necromancer. All the way up to the present. Necro also saw all of Cinder’s memories to the present. When the two backed up, Necro got a look of understanding as he stared at his hand.

“Well?” Cinder asked.

“I’m going to open the vault. I assume that once I do, Dahl will make their move. So be ready to kill.” Necro replied.

“Cinder…” Hira spoke worriedly, looking at Cinder.

“I’ll be fine, Hira.” Cinder nodded.

The three left the facility and saw the armored Dahl vehicle parked outside the Roland 2. Hurrying in, they found Mordecai patching himself up.

“Mordecai, are you okay?!” Cinder gasped, hurrying to him.

“I’ve had way worse than this. So what happened?” Mordecai groaned, despite the smile on his face.

“Necro is going to open the vault. When he does, Dahl is more than likely going to attack.” Hira explained.

“Well, I’m glad you worked it out.” he chuckled.

“Rest for tonight. Come morning we will head out.” Necro told them.

Cinder had a strange dream that night. He found himself surrounded by silhouettes of women in a dark room. He tried to take a step forward and a ring of fire erupted around him. Each of the women then grew angel wings of fire and began to point at him.

“_ Fake. False. Impostor. Your power is a lie. Faker. Failure. She didn’t love you. You are not worthy. You don’t deserve it. You are a disgrace. _” they all began to repeat continuously.

Their words echoed in Cinder’s head making him fall his knees holding the sides of his head. The pain grew and grew until he couldn’t handle it anymore. From what he knew, what they were saying was all true.

“Shut…UP!!!” he screamed, silencing the voices.

Another winged silhouette then appeared before him just outside of the ring of fire. It looked familiar to him, but he couldn’t quite recognize them. The woman then raised their arm, but instead of pointing...they extended their hand.

“Always remember. Your power isn’t meant to be in your hands, but you can defy them...if you are ready to learn.” a distorted voice told him.

Cinder then sprung awake to find it was dawn and everyone was getting ready already. He hurried to get himself prepared, and when he loaded his gun froze for a moment. He swallowed as he thought about what they needed to do today. Mordecai put a hand on his shoulder with a sympathetic smile on his face.

“I won’t say that it’s gonna be easy to kill people. Sometimes killing someone is gonna piss off others, but you can’t avoid it all the time. It’s hard to kill someone if you haven’t before, but it’s harder to let them live if they’ve done something unforgivable. If you can’t do it, hang back and just try to cripple ‘em like usual. We’ll handle the rest.” Mordecai told him.

“Thanks Mordecai…” he sighed.

The group then took the armored car with Necro navigating for them. The ride took a long while. They went through cave after cave until they came into a crystal cavern. The place was beautiful, and sparkled even without light from the sun inside. When they came out of the cave they found themselves before an incredibly huge altar. There were headstones lining the left and right sides of the pathway.

“So...are these graves for…?” Cinder started to ask.

“The townspeople? Yes. For every man, woman, child, and pet. I made one for each of them.” Necro answered.

The group made their way up to the main altar where a mask-shaped indentation sat in the middle. Before they could say anything, Necro removed his mask and placed it there while being careful not to show his face.

“Oh...hidden in plain sight.” Mordecai smirked.

“Which reminds me, the thing Dahl had was the key to the facility where he got his marks.” Cinder told him.

“Well, thanks for doing our work for us! Get ‘em boys!” Commander Ogra’s voice ordered.

“Here they come.” Necro grumbled, putting his mask back on as the vault gate constructed itself.

Sure enough, in came many Dahl assault vehicles carrying troops. Cover was scarce for both sides so getting hits wasn’t that hard. Cinder wound up taking cover behind a tombstone to evade a grenade. He couldn’t even bring himself to fire at them now. His dream was starting to come back to his mind, clouding his thoughts. The gunfire was muffling and fading away as panic set in. He couldn’t take it after all.

“_ I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die! If I don’t shoot...but if I do…! What the hell am I supposed to do?! I CAN’T DO THIS!!! _”

“**You can do this.**”

“_ W-Who’s there…? _”

“**Just open your eyes.**”

Cinder slowly opened his tear-filled eyes and saw that an ember was gently floating in front of his face. It was so small, but its light seemed so comforting.

“**Fire is destruction, but also life. You are the ** ** _Dragon_ ** **, ** ** _Hellfire Reborn_ ** **. Killing people doesn’t make you a bad person. Why you killed them will decide that. Your friends need you.**”

“They need me…” Cinder spoke softly, his gaze becoming sleepy.

He then began to stand as both of his arms lit ablaze with monstrously huge flames as two dragon wings formed behind him. Rising off the ground, the soldiers began firing at him only for their bullets to turn to ash when they got close. He then unleashed two streams of fire from his arms that began engulfing soldiers, making them scream in searing agony. Seeing him, Hira began to focus causing her entire body to start emitting sparks as her hair began standing up. When she opened her eyes they’d turned completely blue and were glowing as her body became a lightning conduit spitting bolts out left and right. Mordecai hit the deck as when she began firing again her bullets were all electrically charged and sent chain lightning through many soldiers at once so they could easily be incinerated. When Necro saw that display he looked at his hands and took a deep breath as he holstered one of his shotguns.

“I promised I wouldn’t use this power...but if those two can use their powers with such confidence, then maybe I can too...” Necro mumbled, clenching his fist.

Green cloud-like mist began gathering around Necro that sparked with neon blue energy. He then let out a wailing howl as he thrust his free hand skyward causing that mist to thicken and rush to all of the graves in the room. Moments later dirt-encrusted skeletons with rotting flesh here and there began to dig themselves from the dirt. Some yanked off their own ribs to use as makeshift shanks on soldiers, stabbing their guts and slashing their throats, while others picked up the guns of fallen troops to open fire.

“Backup! We need backup right now!” a soldier screamed into their Echo before being taken down by several skeletons at once.

When more Dahl cars began bulldozing their way in, Cinder unleashed a massive fireball that caused them all to flip and slide in on their roofs. The soldiers who got out were met almost immediately with chain lightning and skeletons before meeting a fiery end. Any reinforcements who came met similar fates. When they stopped coming was when Cinder finally landed as his flames dissipated. Hira was about to cheer when he suddenly fell forward making Mordecai catch him.

“Kid must have overexerted himself. He’s out like a light.” Mordecai sighed.

“I’m glad that in the end he could do it.” Necro spoke, dismissing his undead causing them to return to their graves and re-bury themselves.

“So that’s what using our real power is like. I felt it in me, but didn’t know how to bring it out until I saw Cinder do it. He didn’t say some magic phrase, he didn’t do any special move...he just kind of let it out, as natural as breathing.” Hira beamed.

“You bastards destroyed my entire invasion force?! God fucking damn it! You’ll pay for this! I swear it on the honor of the Dahl Corporation!” Commander Ogra screamed over the Echonet.

“Sounds like she’s mad.” Necro shrugged.

“Oh yeah, the thing in the vault.” Hira pointed out, noticing the gate still open.

“Just the two of you should be able to carry it back to the car. I’m gonna let Cinder sleep in the back.” Mordecai told them, lifting the unconscious young man.

When Cinder woke up he was back on the Roland 2, and felt stiff all over. Sitting up, he saw a strange Eridian device sitting on the floor. It was at least the size of a dishwasher and was ring shaped. On the sides were claw-like appendages, and inside was a red gemstone filling the entire middle. Hira and Necro were waiting on the other side of the ship.

“Finally awake.” Necro spoke, stretching.

“How long was I out…?” he asked.

“Nine hours. Mordecai is out making sure Dahl is actually gone and not setting up an ambush.” Hira replied.

“So this is the device you’re guarding?” Cinder asked, looking at the machine.

“Indeed. There is a handprint marking here, so I guess that’s how we use it. You should do the honors.” Necro nodded.

Cinder slowly put his red hand on the handprint and his markings began to glow faintly. The appendages then bent and fired small red energy lines into the crystal. That made a hologram of Lilith appear.

“Mom?!” Cinder gasped.

“Cinder. This is a message that I’m leaving behind for you and your eventual allies. The fate that you and the others are going to prevent isn’t just about me and the other Sirens surviving, it’s about the universe surviving. We thought that the Children of the Vault were the war that was coming, but that was only the beginning. There is a seventh Siren out there, and meeting her is going to be bad. The last of the Eridians found me on Elpis and came up with a plan to bitch slap destiny in its smug face. By the time you find this, you’ve already met Necrophalamortis. His power is like yours, derived from a Siren’s power. Only difference is that he can only absorb things that have a new power for him and that he has complete control of it.” Lilith began speaking.

“I know her...I was still very small so I don’t remember any details of the encounter, but she was pregnant at the time.” Necro stated.

“Pregnant with me. We really are all connected.” Cinder told him.

“That makes Necro a good couple of years older than you.” Hira smiled.

“Now, Necro, I know you probably don’t remember anything I told you back then so here’s a refresher. The Necromancer isn’t a monster, it’s your full power. When you absorb it after opening the vault, you will regain a very important ability - the power to resurrect the fallen as they were. There is someone very important that I _ need _ you to resurrect, but it can only be done on Pandora. Resurrection is different from raising the dead in that you’ll need a shit ton of Eridium and a belonging of the deceased. Talk to Ava, she’ll know what you need. Cinder needs you along with the other Chosen, Necro.” Lilith instructed.

“Resurrection…?” Necro questioned, looking at his hands.

“If you need to replay this at any time, just have Cinder touch the device again. A different message will play for each Chosen that touches it, so make sure you take this thing with you. After you resurrect that very important ally, have Necro activate the device for further instruction. After that comes an electric ally. You’ll understand who that is in time.” Lilith told them before the device deactivated.

“That’d be Hira.” Cinder stated bluntly.

“So I guess you found us out of order.” she giggled.

“Well. Looks like I don’t get a choice in whether or not I go with you…” Necro sighed heavily, shaking his head.

“An important ally? Wonder who mom meant.” Cinder pondered aloud.

“We won’t know until we ask Captain Ava.” Hira smiled.

“I’m back. Place is clear.” Mordecai reported, entering the ship.

“Mordecai, let’s get back to Sanctuary.” Cinder smiled.

“Already?” he raised an eyebrow.

“We’ve got what we need to do next. We have to talk to Captain Ava and then get to Pandora. Necro’s coming with us.” he explained.

“What do we need on Pandora?” the sniper asked.

“Eridium, and what we need to do can only be done there according to mom.” Cinder answered.

“If you say so.” Mordecai shrugged.

After buckling up, the Roland 2 took off for Sanctuary. Once onboard the welcoming committee, and by welcoming committee I mean the entire crew, was there to greet them. Necro was not used to being treated so nicely after years of isolation. Even Brick’s initiation hug was somewhat welcomed, as he wasn’t being abused. While Cinder, Hira, and Mordecai told the others what was going on, Necro notices a bespectacled gaze focused on him.

“Nicely maintained body, young, doesn’t slouch, orphaned, and has an affinity for Jakobs firearms...a possible candidate.” a refined voice observed.

Who could be staring at him but Sir Hammerlock. He had an appraising look on his face, one hand under his chin. It made Necro nervous to be analyzed out loud like that.

“Um...I’m Necrophalamortis. May I know who you are?” Necro asked politely, albeit nervously.

“Polite to his elders as well. I am Sir Hammerlock, husband to the CEO of Jakobs Firearms. You see, my lad, we have been looking for someone who fits certain requirements to adopt so that our bloodline continues. My dear Winny and I have been seeking an heir for Jakobs to keep the company from becoming depraved like the other gun manufacturers.” Hammerlock explained to him.

“That’s...er...a very flattering offer…” Necro spoke, extremely unsure how to feel.

“Of course, I’ll have to let Winny get a look at you. It is as much his decision as it is mine, after all. So you have plenty of time to give it some thought. Just between you and I, you are the strongest candidate I’ve ever seen for what we’re looking for.” the jolly hunter chuckled heartily.

“Necro, come introduce yourself.” Cinder called, patting his shoulder making him jump.

“Oh...uh...right.” he nodded, looking back and forth between the two.

After introductions and explaining the situation, Cinder, Hira, and Necro followed Ava to her private quarters. There she opened a trunk and pulled out a dusty tome, blowing dust off of it.

“I put this in here because I didn’t want it to get damaged. We had a lot of fire fights before Cinder showed up, so there were lots of opportunities for that. There are also some...powerful memories...attached to this book.” Ava told them, a nostalgic look on her face.

“Did it belong to someone close?” Hira asked.

“It belonged to my old teacher, Maya. She was like family, and sacrificed herself to pull my tail out of the fire when I messed up big time. She was the Siren who had my power before me.” Ava explained to them.

“Oh yeah, in the stories about Handsome Jack, Maya was one of the Vault Hunters who stopped him.” Cinder nodded.

“That’s right. She meant a lot to me. So this better not be a ruse.” Ava told them, handing the book to Necro.

“All that I can promise is that I will try my best.” Necro nodded.

“Do you have a picture of her? I think it’ll help him know who he’s resurrecting if he sees a good visual representation.” Cinder asked.

“Great idea. Can’t just go off of name alone.” Ava smiled, starting to dig through a box of photos.

“_ Cinder...do you really believe in me to resurrect this ‘Maya’? I spent years fearing my power’s capability, believing it to be breaking a worldly taboo. If you are willing to put that much trust in me...then perhaps it is time that I began to believe in myself as well. _” Necro thought to himself, clenching his fist.


	4. Death & Resurrection

Pandora, The Great Vault. After the Calypsos were killed off, it pretty much went back to being a lawless, most importantly cultless, hellhole. That isn’t to say the COV are completely gone, just much less prominent without their “twin gods” to lead them. The Crimson Raiders had become the de facto kingpin pseudo-clan of the planet, establishing the official Pandora Spaceport with the help of Atlas and Jakobs. When Sanctuary landed the crew were greeted by Atlas troops and Jakobs gunmen standing at attention in single file lines. In truth, Cinder had never been on Pandora’s surface before. The barren landscape did not look too pleasing to the eye.

“So this is Pandora. Not the most pleasant place to bring someone back from the dead…” Cinder chuckled.

“Ah it ain’t so bad. We got Boom Town, Roland’s Fortress that used to be Roland’s Rest before the renovations were finished, there’s Crimson Command in the Droughts, Catch-A-Ride HQ, and plenty of bandits in need of punching.” Brick laughed.

“There’s sane people too, Brick.” Mordecai sighed.

“This place reminds me of the desert back home, just more hostile.” Hira stated, seeing troops firing at a Rak swarm.

“Hey, hey, Cinder, there’s a place you gotta see, playa. Come with me to Roland’s Fortress. Meant to take ya years ago, but Ava wouldn’t let me take you planetside.” Tina spoke up, yanking Cinder’s arm.

“He was seven. I wasn’t about to let Lilith’s kid wander around Pandora at that age. You know what can happen to kids.” Ava shrugged.

“Well he’s grown up now! So we goin’.” Tina told her.

“What’s at Roland’s Fortress?” Cinder asked her.

“Someone who, if not for an unfortunate accident, would probably be your daddy, yo.”

Taking a Technical vehicle Brick, Mordy, and Tina took Cinder’s group to Roland’s Fortress. There were crimson raiders standing at the ready for anything. Once inside Tina pulled Cinder by the arm as the others trailed behind. After a bit of walking they came to a museum with a plaque labeled “In Dedication to Roland: The First Crimson Raider”. There were exhibits in a circular path that showed everything Roland had done for them, from the first vault to his final mission. At the very end of the path was Roland’s grave, his Sabre Turret sitting dutifully yet inactive over him.

“So Roland was really close to mom. Wish I could have met him.” Cinder sighed, putting a hand on the name plaque.

“Roland woulda looked out for ya way more than the rest of us combined.” Brick smiled, patting his back.

“He always had an eye on everyone, and would be first to help when there was trouble.” Mordecai nodded.

“Couldn’t Necro revive him too?” Hira asked.

“Hey, great idea!” Brick smiled.

“Hold it. We don’t know all the rules to resurrecting a person. There might be a critical need-to-know rule somewhere. I also haven’t even tried to resurrect Maya yet so I don’t know if it’s possible.” Necro told them.

“He’s right. One thing at a time.” Mordecai nodded.

“Yeah. I mean it’d be totally freakin’ awesome if he could, but gotta know everything there is to know first, right? Don’t wanna mess up and make some kinda abomination.” Tina nodded, though a bit twitchy at the idea of Roland being revived.

“ _ So mom loved Roland. I’ll keep you in mind if we find out it is possible to resurrect multiple people. _ ” Cinder thought to himself as they left.

“Okay, now where do we find a ton of Eridium?” Mordecai asked.

“Vaughn will know.” Brick replied.

“Who’s that?” Hira asked.

“Mayor of Roland’s Fortress.” Tina replied.

They proceeded up many flights of stairs and soon arrived at Vaughn’s office, as clearly marked by a nameplate. Brick didn’t even bother knocking and opened the door. Inside was the man himself, now properly dressed in crimson armor. The group was stunned in awe as Vaughn hummed audibly along with music as he danced while mopping the floor.

“OOH!!!” Vaughn cried as he whirled around, fully oblivious to the audience.

_ VAUGHN - BANDIT LYFE TO MAYOR LYFE _

“WAGH!!! How long have you guys been standing there?! Say something if you’re gonna barge in, jeez!” Vaughn screamed in a high pitched voice, flinging his mop across the office.

“Sorry Vaughn.” Mordy sighed, shaking his head.

“Vaughn, where’s that Eridium dump I told ya to make?” Tina asked him.

“In that Eridian ruin you guys told me to guard. The one in the Burning Cradle with the weird lab stuff.” Vaughn replied readily.

“Lab stuff?” Cinder repeated.

“You think that maybe…?” Hira pondered, tapping her foot.

“That’s where we need to do it?” Necro shrugged.

“By the way, who are these three? New recruits?” Vaughn asked.

“Remember how we told ya that Lil left her kid with us? Meet the slugger himself, Cinder. These are his pals, Hira and Necro.” Brick introduced them, grouping the three close together.

“Oh, so you’re the legendary Child of the Firehawk! There’s a cult about you, ya know.” Vaughn smiled.

“Say what now?” Cinder raised a brow.

“Yeah. The Cult of the Firehawk lost their idol when Lilith vanished, but when word that you exist got leaked they started up again. Started worshipping you as the ‘God of the Inferno, come to baptise all with your all-encompassing Divine Hellfire’. Bandits only got weirder after the COV fell apart, man.” Vaughn explained.

“So, where is this ‘Burning Cradle’?” Cinder asked him.

“Oh you’ll just head to the Splinterlands and there’ll be a cave system we burrowed, because screw going over the mountain am I right? Way easier to just dig a tunnel through. Just make sure it’s the one with lights set up, the others are spiderant caves and you do not wanna go headlong into a nest this time of year let me tell ya.” he replied.

“Thanks Vaughn. Nice meet you.” Hira smiled.

“By the way, what do you need all that Eridium for?” Vaughn asked.

“Gonna bring back the dead. Laters.” Tina waved.

“Oh, bring back the dead. That makes-wait a minute, what?!” he exclaimed.

Before he could ask more the group was already on their way. The ride was pleasant enough, until hitting the Splinterlands. There they had to deal with bandit patrols attacking. Brick was more than happy to introduce them to his rocket launcher. Soon they were in the tunnels, where the patrols couldn’t pursue. After about twenty minutes of being in tunnels, they came out into a volcanic area with man-made pathways over the magma. The ruin they arrived at was far less a ruin and closer to a ritual site. The lab equipment Vaughn had mentioned looked more like sacrificial altars. Just like he said, there were veritable mountains of Eridium there.

“If anything looks like a site to perform some law-of-nature breaking ceremony...it’s this place.” Cinder whistled, walking toward the center of the area.

“I feel a connection to this place.” Necro stated, touching the main altar.

“Yeah. It’s like I’ve been here before, but I don’t remember.” Hira nodded.

“Nice to know it’s not just me.” Cinder sighed.

When the three of them touched the main altar the runes in it roared to life, startling them. The entire place then came to life with parts moving and sconces lighting with purple fire. In a burst of light, a black and red Guardian appeared before them. It was angelic in appearance, yet something was off.

“Is it friendly…?” Mordecai asked.

“Chosen Ones. You have come at last. This is a sacred temple where one can hone their power, and with the right amount of Eridium even use powers normally inaccessible to you.” the guardian addressed them.

“I’m gonna go on a limb and say you’re the ‘instruction manual’ we need for my power.” Necro stated.

“Necrophalamortis, Scion of the Leech. You speak of the power to bring back the dead, not as corpse soldiers, but as they were in life prior to death.” the guardian spoke.

“Yeah, that. How does it work?” Cinder asked them.

“The power to defy death comes with a great price. He cannot use it without assistance from Eridium...and a replacement.” they replied.

“Replacement?” Brick raised an eyebrow.

“To bring one back you must send another to take their place. The number of deaths in the universe must always remain the same, less you anger the fabric of reality.”

“So if we want Maya back we have to sacrifice someone still living to take her place in the afterlife.” Cinder reaffirmed aloud.

“Ah but that is only the beginning of the rules. Second, is there are ‘fixed deaths’ to consider. People who, no matter what you do or may want, must die and will die one way or another when they are supposed to perish. These people cannot be resurrected without greater sacrifice.” the guardian explained.

“How do we know who’s fixed and who’s not?” Tina asked.

“I know not. I do know this: the Siren you seek, Maya, can indeed be brought back. You have more than enough Eridium to facilitate the deed, as she is Siren no longer.” the guardian answered.

“So the Eridium needed is also proportional to how vital the person is to the universe?” Mordecai asked.

“Correct.”

“Does it matter if the sacrifice is willing?” Brick asked.

“Any living being of the same race will do.”

“I’ve got a line on a sacrifice! Be back soon, people!” Brick cheered, hurrying back to the technical.

“Wait up!” Mordecai cried, hurrying after him.

“Shotgun!” Tina cheered.

“You always get shotgun…”

“Are there any other important details we need to know? Like a cooldown timer? Some special voodoo dance we gotta do?” Cinder asked the guardian.

“For Necro, there is something vital that he needs to know. When you start you will have an out of body experience before being transported to the afterlife. There you must call out to Maya’s soul. Once you have a hold of her, do not let go until you return to your body. The will of the universe will try to stop you is why I am telling you this. Should you fail to do this, there is a chance you will lose your soul.” the guardian answered, turning to Necro.

“No pressure...” he sighed.

“If you succeed, be prepared to calmly and slowly explain what happened to her. She will be on the brink of going into shock from suddenly having a body again.” they warned.

“That reminds me.” Cinder nodded, pulling out his Echo to make a call.

“What’s up?” Ava responded.

“Found the site we’re resurrecting Maya: Burning Cradle’s ritual site. Brick, Tina, and Mordecai are getting a sacrifice.” Cinder told her.

“Really?! Sweet! I’ll get the others over there on the double! See ya in a little bit!” Ava cheered before quickly hanging up.

“That’s done.” Cinder chuckled.

“No other rules or fine print?” Hira asked the guardian.

“Just one. After he performs the procedure, he will be incapable of doing so again for two Pandoran years.” they answered.

“Translation?” Cinder requested.

“In earth years, twenty.”

“That means it must take a ton of power.” he whistled.

“It is moreso the strain it will put on his body. He won’t be able to withstand doing it a second time within that time period.”

“I get it already, make it count, yeesh.” Necro sighed in exasperation.

“Can you tell me anything about my mom? Where she is, maybe? Why she had to leave me with the raiders? Anything?” Cinder asked them.

“I am afraid that I do not have this information.” they replied, making him sigh while slouching a bit.

“Who does then?” Cinder demanded.

“Cinder, calm down.” Hira told him, taking his hand.

“I just want some answers, Hira. They owe me that much if they’re making me run around gathering the other Chosen.” he grumbled.

“When you seek out the next Chosen, you shall find at least some of the answers that you desire. I humbly ask that you hold on just a while longer.” the guardian told him.

“Fine…” Cinder huffed.

“I do not fault you for your impatience, Chosen Flame. There are a great many things about this situation that are unfair for you. You shall receive your just recompense in due time.”

“We’re baaaaaaaaack!” Brick’s voice roared.

Rather than just one, two technicals came rolling into the area. Strapped to and wriggling on the hood of Brick’s technical was a psycho, spouting nonsense. Behind them was Ava’s technical, carrying Moxxi, Ellie, and Marcus.

“Where do I put this fella?” Brick asked, pulling the psycho off the hood.

“I’LL EAT YOUR FACE AND JUMP ROPE WITH YOUR SPLEEN!!!”

“On the altar platform here.” they instructed.

Brick laid them down and then backed off as the others got out of the vehicles. Necro then approached where two shoe marks had conveniently been placed. The guardian then floated near to him.

“I’LL ADD YOUR FEMUR TO MY MEAT BICYCLE!!!”

“Now, take hold of the item that belonged to her and focus your power. Feel the pulse of life in everything around you.” they instructed.

Necro pulled out Maya’s tome and closed his eyes. He then began to let his power flow through him. His marks began lighting up as he could start to sense everyone’s heart beats. Normally this is where he’d stop and bottle up again, but he had a job to do. Green energy began to flow from him to touch the Eridium mounds, starting to turn them green. Sparks were bursting from the streams now and then as he began rising from the floor. In a flash of light, immense green ethereal angel wings formed on his back. The tome began to float forward and stopped when it was directly over the psycho. Before he knew it, he floated forward leaving his body behind. It felt like he’d stepped naked into a freezer. A powerful green and purple fog then rolled in and obscured everything, yet he could see through to a new plane. He could see it - paradise. It was so beautiful that he began to cry. He could feel it calling, but he had to resist. This was it. This was his moment. He either succeeded or failed. He reached out his arm and took in a deep breath, which felt surreal as a soul floating in nowhere.

“MAYAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!” he screamed, his voice echoing powerfully.

He couldn’t see anyone, but he felt something grab hold of his arm so he grabbed them just as tight. A very powerful wind began blowing from behind him then, trying to pull whoever he was holding away from him. The fog was going away as well. He could no longer see paradise, but two glowing golden eyes glaring at him.

“ ** _RELEASE HER!!!_ ** ”

“Choke on one.” he snarled, flipping them the bird with his free hand.

Soon the ritual site began coming into view again. When he touched his body again it felt like slapping against a stone wall. When his arm reentered his physical form he was forced to let go as black enveloped him. His eyes then flew open, emitting powerful green flames as he roared violently. Green electricity was erupting from his palms, electrocuting the psycho as a black sludge encased them. The sky had gone dark at some point with storm clouds all around. When the psycho was fully encased, not moving or making a single peep, Necro at last fell landing on his knees as the tome lowered to sink into the sludge. Cinder and Hira rushed to help him stand as he held his head.

“How’d it go…?” Cinder asked.

“Ask her.” he replied.

He then grabbed hold of the sludge to reveal that it was actually thin, closer to being a layer of tin foil than sludge. Like a magician, he then in one fluid swing of his arm tore it away revealing not a psycho lying there on the altar...but Maya, lacking her Siren tattoos. She looked still as a doll, tranquil with arms folded over her chest holding the tome there, and then her eyes suddenly flung open and she took in an extremely raspy gasp of air. Ava began to well up as she made a dead sprint for the altar to catch her when she tried to get off the altar. Her body was trembling and her eyes were filled to the brim with fear and confusion.

“Maya, Maya, it’s okay, it’s me. It’s Ava.” she told her, holding her close.

“A-A...va…?” she choked out.

** _Maya - Alive & Better Than Ever!_ **

“Anyone got some water on them or something?” Ava asked the crew.

“Always.” Mordy nodded, tossing her his canteen.

She then helped Maya take a big drink. Maya then let out a loud exhale as she fell to her knees with Ava. The ex-Siren then took a slow look around and only seemed more perplexed.

“Maya, this is going to sound crazy, but you’ve been dead for eighteen years.” Ava told her.

“I know that I died. What I’m confused about is how I’m here. I heard a voice call to me, and then I woke up here...” she spoke, trying to gather herself.

“Mission successful! We’ve got another badass up in here!” Brick howled with joy.

“Eighteen years though…?” Maya raised her brow.

“Yeah. A lot has happened too. I guess the first thing to do is introduce you to the guy with the brass balls to defy nature by bringing you back to life.” Ava smiled, helping her stand.

When Maya gazed upon Neco and saw Cinder beside him, a flash of Lilith standing there made her rub her eyes for a minute.

“So, going to introduce me?” Maya asked her.

“Of course. This is Necro, the guy who resurrected you. That’s Hira, she’s a friend of Cinder’s and is a Chosen like the other two.” Ava replied.

“Chosen? Who’s Cinder?” she questioned.

“That’d be me. It’s nice to meet you, Miss Maya. I’ve seen pictures but always wondered what it’d be like if you had lived.” Cinder answered, stepping forward.

“Get this, Maya. He’s Lilith’s son! Imagine our surprise when one day he shows up out of the blue on the recreation deck with Lilith’s emblem burned into the floor under him.” Ava introduced him.

“Lilith has a kid now? Who’s the lucky guy? Where is Lil, anyway?” Maya asked.

“That’s the thing. We don’t have the answers to either. Part of this whole quest is to find out. That and to avert some kind of disaster. So far we haven’t run into any psychopaths though so it’s gotta be Siren related.” Ava explained.

“Well, the resemblance is striking, that’s for sure.” Maya smirked.

“This calls for some drinks.” Moxxi smiled.

“Omigosh, Maya, you look stunning for a chick that’s been dead eighteen years.” Tina beamed.

“I’m honestly surprised that I don’t look any older.” she chuckled, looking herself over.

“You have succeeded, Necrophalamortis. Know this: when the day comes you pass from this world, it will not be a pleasant journey. The forces of the universe do not take raising the dead lightly.” the guardian warned.

“Joy…” he sighed.

“Okay, we’ve revived Maya. Now what?” Hira asked.

“Personally I’d like to get up to speed on everything that’s happened, but maybe a bite to eat first wouldn’t hurt.” Maya smiled as her stomach growled loudly.

Upon returning to the spaceport an Atlas soldier hurried over to greet them. He looked completely out of breath.

“Commander Ava, urgent call from President Rhys.” the soldier spoke, saluting.

“Looks like it’s important. You guys go ahead onto Sanctuary.” Ava told the group.

Once onboard, Cinder, Necro, and Hira immediately went to the eridian communicator on the bridge. Tannis had installed it into the center console while they were in transit to Pandora. With a nod to each other, Necro touched the handprint making it roar to life. Just as last time, a hologram of Lilith appeared.

“If you’re viewing this, that means you succeeded in resurrecting Maya and Necro is still alive. Now just use the Angel Marker Necro had and you’ll find the next Chosen. Cinder, I know you’ve been wanting answers since I left you with the raiders. Well, this is your chance to get at least a few. On the planet you’ll find someone named The Chronicler, a being who knows everything that’s happened in the universe so far. They may look like a monster, but they’re on our side, trust me. They will answer three questions per person, so use them wisely. If they try refusing to answer, usually a gun aimed their way will convince them to spill the goods.” Lilith instructed.

“Finally, a bone to chew on.” Cinder sighed.

“At this point I need to give you a warning. The Seventh Siren has caught wind of our plan and launched countermeasures to try and stop it. I can’t ask you to stop everything you might be doing to pick up the pace, but it is very important that you find the other Chosen. Whatever you do, don’t trust Dahl.” Lilith warned them before the transmission ended.

“That’s a given at this point.” Necro sighed.

“Hey, do you think the only reason Dahl knew about your world could be because of this Seventh Siren? What if she’d sent them there to make sure you can’t revive Maya?” Cinder asked.

“It’s plausible.” Necro shrugged.

“That must mean these messages are old, because Necro was dealing with Dahl for years.” Hira stated.

“Tell me Lilith didn’t expect you to be hunting for these two when you were little…” Mordecai sighed.

“That’d have been a recipe for disaster. I was not in a healthy mental space when I was little.” Cinder whistled, shaking his head.

“Okay, Crimson Raiders! Good news!” Ava announced, stepping onto the bridge.

“I love good news.” Brick beamed.

“Atlas has finished Sanctuary’s upgrades. Baylex, Ellie and I have been keeping this project hush-hush for a long while, but with our expanding family the ship is getting to be a bit cramped. So I commissioned Atlas to make expansions for our ship. We’ll have proper sleeping quarters, recreational areas, finally more than one shower area, and state of the art defenses for the ship including a shielding and cloak system. So we’re going to be taking a detour from our planned schedule of Chosen Hunting to get those installed on Promethea.” she explained to them.

“Oh hell yeah, it’s about time. Plotting a course now, just hit ‘go’ when you’re ready for takeoff.” Baylex laughed.

“Anything else we need to do while we’re still on Pandora?” Cinder asked the group.

“Can’t think of anything.” Hira shrugged.

“Not me.” Necro nodded.

“Hey, you guys are going to see Rhys right? Mind if I come along? I’ve been meaning to catch up with that guy.” Vaughn asked via Echo.

“I don’t see why not.” Ava smiled.

“Sweet! I’ll be there in about an hour, just gotta make sure my secretary knows what to do about my schedule while I’m gone.” Vaughn cheered.

“I remember Rhys, kind of. Didn’t he have that ‘vacation mustache’ or something?” Cinder asked.

“Poor guy is really set on rocking a mustache isn’t he? Watch, he’ll have a ‘greeting mustache’ next.” Ava laughed.

“I guess you uh, had to be there, aha.” Hira chuckled awkwardly.

“I’m sure we’ll get the joke once we meet Rhys ourselves.” Necro consoled her, patting her shoulder.

“So everyone take it easy, we take off once Vaughn is onboard. I’ve got to bring Maya up to speed on what’s been happening.” Ava ordered.

When everyone left the bridge, only Cinder remained behind. Something had been bothering him for a while now. Could there be hidden messages in the device? He didn’t want to accidentally break it though, so he paid a visit to Tannis and brought her to get a good look at it.

“Hmm. Nothing seems out of the ordinary with it, compared to other Eridian tech I’ve messed with. Perhaps I can phaseshift it to learn its secrets?” Tannis narrowed her eyes.

“Just be careful, don’t want it causing some kind of error in the mainframe.” Baylex told her.

“I’ll try but I can’t make any promises. Now then...executing phaseshift.” Tannis cleared her throat, putting her hands up to it.

Tannis was silent for a good ten minutes. She then let out a loud gasp making Cinder sit up quickly.

“Something happen?” he asked, leaping to his feet.

“Incredible. This device can not only record messages, but it can make predictions on where we will find minerals and ores as well. By turning this inner ring here we can change its operating mode.” Tannis explained, pointing to a hidden inner ring.

“Cool. Any hidden messages? Maybe a clue where mom is…?” Cinder asked her impatiently.

“I did find something as a matter of fact, a rather personal message. I’ll show you how to access it and then give you some privacy. It will return to its default state after viewing it so don’t worry about needing to view the other messages later.” Tannis smiled.

Tannis then showed that it is possible to angle the arms differently and then turned the inner ring so certain characters were at the handprint side. With a light bow, she then left the bridge closing the door behind her. Cinder then touched the handprint, making a hologram of Lilith appear.

“Cinder. It’ll probably be years before you see this. Thinking on it, I could leave you a clue on how to access this message too if I hurry. You’re a smart kid though, but maybe Tannis will need to help you. Damn it, I told myself I wasn’t going to ramble like this…”

“Mom…”

“So, I’m recording this after just after sending you to the raiders. You’re confused, you’re sad, and you probably hate me by now...but I need you to know something. It felt like these guys crushed my heart with a hammer when they said that we needed to be separated. I...also lied. It wasn’t for your own good, it was because I couldn’t focus on the task at hand. I was so happy to have you that I was starting to fall behind in what needed to be done. I’m still shaking, and honestly can’t believe what I’ve done. If I could have had my way you would still be by my side. We would have gotten your powers and I’d be training you to use them without hurting everyone around you. The fact is...that isn’t what happened. I held you tight one last time before I sent you...and I didn’t want to let go, but I did. I can’t even tell you where I’m going. I can only hope that you’ll forgive me, and stay that sweet little boy who’ll smile in the face of danger.” Lilith spoke, getting more emotional as she went.

“She did still want me…” he sniffled, wiping a tear.

“I’m almost out of time for this message. Your powers center around your own self control and temper, so I want you to practice meditating. Repeat this phrase silently to yourself, it’s supposed to temper your body for using it: ‘Flamma enim Cordis mei, et ignem imposita Stoked vitae’. I love you, Cinder...and I’m sorry.” Lilith told him, a tear-filled smile on her face as the message ended.

_ *Author’s note: It’s supposed to translate to “My Flame is My Heart, Stoked With the Pyre of Life”, but what you put into google translate doesn’t always mean the same going backward. Go figure, right?* _

Just as Tannis had said, the device then returned to normal. The door to the bridge then opened making him quickly wipe his tears and try to straighten himself out. Turning around, it was Maya that’d entered.

“So you’re Lilith’s little boy. Never would have thought she’d find a way to pass on her powers without kicking the bucket or losing her own power.” Maya smiled.

“Yeah. My markings make it possible, you know, since I’m a guy.” he nodded.

“I had your friends demonstrate their powers to me, and one thing is apparent. The three of you need some meditation to focus yourselves. You could cause some serious collateral damage otherwise.” Maya told him.

“ _ Practice meditation! Is that why we needed Maya? I know she’s a badass, but if she’s also able to help us meditate then it makes even more sense. _ ”

“I’m ready to try any time.” Cinder nodded.

Cinder followed Maya to the current relaxation deck where Necro and Hira had gathered. At Maya’s instruction they each sat down and began to touch their fingers together.

“Now, while you’re meditating you aren’t supposed to let anything distract you. Clearing your head is easier said than done, but with practice you can do it.” Maya told them.

“Flamma enim Cordis mei, et ignem imposita Stoked vitae…” Cinder whispered as he closed his eyes.

“That works too, sometimes chanting helps keep your mind off of other things.” Maya smiled.

Cinder felt his body loosen a small bit each time he repeated the phrase. His core felt warm for some reason. Before long a hall began to come into vision before him, which was odd as he had his eyes closed and as far as he knew wasn’t asleep. The hall was made of a purple material and was lit by dim blue fire in sconces. Along the way were statues of women, each bearing Siren markings, and at the very end… stood Lilith. Behind her was a deathly skinny female entity with four arms that he didn’t recognize. On her back were six red, gold, and blue wings. The being then looked right at him and got in his face, putting all four of her hands on his head.

“ **So it was ** ** _you!_ ** ** You're not worthy of this power! You have no place here! BEGONE!!!** ” she shrieked in a reverberating voice.

It then felt like someone shoved Cinder as the hallway flew away from him. When he opened his eyes he fell over with his balance completely thrown off. Sitting up, he looked around bewildered. Maya, Necro, and Hira were equally confused.

“Are you okay?” Maya asked him.

“I...went somewhere I didn’t recognize. I saw mom, and a bunch of statues. There was this weird alien lady who told me I’m not worthy or something.” he explained, gathering himself.

“Did they all have Siren marks?” she asked.

“Yeah. Every last one, except the alien.” he nodded.

“Amazing. You astral projected to a place my book calls ‘The Hall of Sirens’, and on your first try. It’s a place where you can speak to the Sirens who had your power in the past and ask for help, maybe even learn some new tricks.” Maya smiled, helping him up.

“So who was that alien chick?”

“That was probably the first Siren in your power’s lineage. Something tells me she definitely isn’t happy that the Law of Sirens is being violated.”

“Okay everyone, we’re taking off. Prepare for takeoff turbulence, atmospheric break turbulence, and then warp turbulence.” Baylex announced.

Cinder couldn’t help thinking about that woman’s words to him. He knew that he was breaking the rules, but did she have to be so harsh about it? It wasn’t like he did it intentionally. Her voice was still ringing in his ears too. It was like he was really there. Even despite knowing this, it irked him that she’d so easily write him off as unworthy just because he’s a dude.

Once Sanctuary arrived on Promethea they docked in the special Atlas Military Hangar. As they got off they could see many ship pieces and parts, seemingly ready to be installed at a moment’s notice. Who should come out of a doorway down the way but CEO Rhys himself, accompanied by Zero.

“Crimson Raiders! Welcome to Promethea, again! We’ll have your ship upgraded by tomorrow morning, so feel free to take the day relaxing.” Rhys smiled.

“Is that another fake mustache?” Ava asked him.

“Come on, it’s my ‘Welcoming Mustache’.” Rhys groaned.

“I get it now, it’s a fake!” Hira burst out laughing.

“Does he...always wear fake mustaches…?” Necro asked, trying to show self restraint.

“It’s supposed to be the latest in professional looks…” Rhys sighed, slouching over.

“It is okay, Rhys./You are a professional./It suits you no matter what they say.” Zero comforted him, patting his back.

“Sup Zero?” Maya waved.

“Maya?!/Alive and well?!/Am I dreaming?!” Zero flinched.

“What? Oh crap, she is! What?! How?! When?! We all went to the funeral and everything!” Rhys gasped, stepping back.

“Long story short, extra life.” Maya smirked, pointing her thumb at Necro who gave a short wave.

“Well, I am glad to see you again./You look good./For someone who was dead.” Zero nodded.

“I know right? I was half expecting some kind of drawback to being revived, but no. I’m totally just alive and free to do what I want.” she shrugged.

“Well this is a happy occasion then! So, who’s up for a trip to Lazy River Land? Crimson Raiders have VIP 24/7 365 access, on Atlas.” Rhys smiled.

“Lazy River Land?” Necro questioned.

“It’s a water park where you can just relax and let a current carry you along. There are all kinds of water slides too, but the main attraction is the hot spring river. Not too hot but not too cold.” Cinder explained.

“You know a lot about it.” Hira pointed out.

“Well, it’s one of my favorite places to go. Mordecai used to take me all the time when I was little. Oh, and Brick is the reason diving boards were removed so don’t bother asking about them.” Cinder smiled.

“It’s not my fault the pool couldn’t handle a cannon ball.” Brick shrugged.

“Admittedly a 100 foot diving board was excessive.” Rhys grimaced.

“Hold it. Do you two have swimsuits?” Moxxi asked Necro and Hira.

“What’s a swimsuit?”

“I haven’t been swimming since before the vault opened…so...”

“That settles it, you two are coming with me. The rest of you can go on ahead.” Moxxi smiled, shooing them away.


End file.
